Sanctuary
by EnchantedKnights
Summary: Life is short, but what becomes of those whose life was unexpectedly cut shorter than destined? Yugi Mutou is a young man who has fallen to such an ill fate. As he struggles with accepting what has befell him, he enters Sanctuary, a safe haven for those of who experienced a similar fate as his own. But, not even paradise is perfect. (Mobiumshipping)
1. An End, Is Just a New Beginning

**Title:** Sanctuary.  
 **Rating:** M.  
 **Genres:** AU; Alternate Universe, Angst, Tragedy, Romance, Humor, Supernatural, oh and just a hint of Mystery.  
 **Warnings:** Mature themes, mature language, smut, Character deaths, Violence, and Detail Descriptions.  
 **Main paring** : Mobiumshipping. (YxYYxPA) ,hinted Peachshipping. (AM X YM), and other various pairings.  
 **Summary:** Life is short, but what becomes of those whose life was unexpectedly cut shorter than destined? Yugi Mutou is a young man who has fallen to such an ill fate. As he struggles with accepting what has befell him, he enters Sanctuary, a safe haven for those of who experienced a similar fate as his own. (Mobiumshipping)

 **Author's Rant:** After being chopped for revisions, Sanctuary has _finally_ come back and is ready to re-enter the world of FF! Please enjoy this long and bumpy ride. I regret nothing.  
 **Disclaimer;** I, _Enchanted Knights,_ do not own any part of the Yu-gi-oh! franchise, nor any of the characters , songs, of potential brands used in this fanfiction. They all belong to their respective owners, I only own the story line and created this sappy little story.

* * *

 **Chapter I**  
 **An Ending, Is Just a New Beginning.**

 _"And j_ _ust how cruel is the golden rule? Harsh enough to make even God cry tears."_

* * *

The way her perfect chocolate brown hair fell to her shoulders and framed her heart-shaped face, which harbored her soft round luminous blue eyes, button-like nose, and plump light pink lips coated with a shimmering pink lip gloss; could drive Yugi Mutou insane, had he not known Anzu Mazaki for over eleven years of his life. Instead, he admired his best friend's look from a distance. Compared to her height of five feet and eight inches, Yugi was like her little brother, standing at only five feet and six inches. Damn his body for its late growth spurts. If only he was a little taller, then maybe he could have been the one to have swept Anzu off her feet, rather than Ryuji Otogi.

"It looks like the rain is letting up. Do you think we can make it home from here?" A voice with the vocals of an angel, questioned Yugi, pulling him from his day dreams of being taller and his fantasies of a future with Anzu.

The seventeen year old male blinked his amethyst colored eyes twice, as his face grew warm with a crimson blush for being caught daydreaming about his crush, who was standing just to his right. It was a dreadful habit he needed to break himself of before it became a serious problem, but the teen just couldn't help but dream about the beautiful girl who had stolen his heart.

Yugi collected his jumbled up thoughts quickly as he looked out at the slowing rainfall. "Mmm, maybe if we hurry, "He told his best friend, as he held out his hand into the rain. "Or we could wait it does look like it'll be ending soon, " the shorter teen suggested.

Anzu thought their options over before shaking her head. " Let's go head and try to make it home, Otogi is waiting for me," She informed her best friend with an apologetic smile, "Tonight's our date night! Also, I feel bad if we kept your Grandpa waiting on you."

"O-Oh! Well then, let's hurry and try to get you to him then. I'll escort you there, Ji-chan won't be bothered if I walk you home, he'll understand when I tell him," Yugi replied to her, giving the woman he loved a gentle smile," Plus, we don't want Otogi to have to cancel your date night because you got lost or injured. " It wasn't like Yugi to let one of his close friends to just venture out alone, when he could have gone with them. It also saved him the worry of wondering if they made it to their destination safely. It was just the kind of person he was, a selfless worry-wort.

Anzu laughed softly before ruffling Yugi's tri-colored hair of ebony, amethyst, and blonde bangs that framed his childish face. "You're always worrying over me Yugi, it's like you're my brother, or better yet, my mother!"

Yugi groaned at that statement and stepped away from Anzu, fixing his spiked hairdo and the bangs that framed his face. " Geez, I'm just looking out for you," He sighed and gave the brown-haired girl a childish pout. " Can't a guy be protective over his clumsy friend?"

" I am not clumsy!" Anzu protested, stomping his her foot and putting her hands on her hips.

Her eyebrows scrunched together while she pursed her lips. Such an expression caused Yugi to laugh and walk ahead of her, leaving their dry shelter. "Says the person who trips, and falls over while putting on their shoes! And thought dancers were supposed to be graceful!" He called back to the woman of his dreams as he walked ahead.

Yugi heard the sound of feet splashing against the wet ground behind him. He paused looking back over his shoulder, just as Anzu caught up to him. She raised up her hand and hit the back of his head lightly, but with enough point to send Yugi stumbling forward a bit.

"Yugi, it's not polite to taunt a lady, " She scowled her friend, trying to act serious before she bellowed out in laughter and started to walk ahead of her closest friend. The teenage boy shook his head laughing, as he rubbed the spot where Anzu had struck him lightly. This was exactly why he loved Anzu. Her fiery personality brought so much excitement to his life.

"I know, I know, but this is you we're talking about," He told his friend catching up with her. "If anything it's excused," He said happily as they walked.

Anzu rolled her blue eyes, though she wore a bright smile. " Of course, on the exception I get to make fun of you as well, " She teased the short male. Yugi smiled and simply shook his head.

The heavy rain soon turned into just a light drizzle, leaving the gloomy gray sky above. The two friends slowed their walk down, enjoying the company of each other as they walked home together from school. They spoke of their graduation just a few months away, hard to believe it was already their senior year, and just halfway into their first semester. The teens also talked about Anzu's dream. She notified Yugi that she had almost collected enough money for a trip to the Americas, to New York City. There, she would attempt to land a career in choreographer, hopefully end up working in Broadway. Of course, that would be after she went to college and obtained a degree in the fine art.

The two friends also talked about Yugi's future after high school, but the young man hadn't sorted out what he wanted to do as of yet. He did have his plans narrowed down to working a part-time job at his grandfather's game store, while attending classes at Domino University for game designing; but he had no clue what he wanted to do for a living just yet.

A soft sigh came from Anzu just shortly after their conversation about their futures, causing Yugi to look up at his friend with worry. " Is something wrong Anzu?" He asked his concern already seeping through his calm voice.

" It's nothing to be worried over," She replied immediately." It's just... my school bag seems to be a little worn.I've had it since middle school and the handles are starting to come undone, " She lifted the bag up to show Yugi, who nodded in agreement at the sight of the worn out school bag.

"Maybe you should replace it? Have you talked to your mother about it?"

"No, not yet, I'll ask her about getting a new one, when I get - AH!" Just as they started to cross a railway crossing, Anzu's student bag fell apart and dropped to the ground.

The male paused his mid-stride to help his 'crush' pick up her things. "Well, now you have to get a new one," Yugi chuckled softly as he collected some of Anzu's papers before they were ruined by the wet weather and ground.

A soft snort came from the beautiful brown haired girl as she tucked a strand of her wet chocolate-colored hair behind her ear. "Yeah no kidding-" Warning bells of train-crossing started screeching, along with its lights flashing and the gate arm started to close down; had interrupted Anzu.

Yugi was the first to act, hurrying to gather anything he could in his arms before standing up. "Come on Anzu!" A loud whistle of a passenger-train could be heard over his voice as well as its headlights could be seen in the distance.

Anzu quickly gathered her pens, pencils, and other materials as fast as she could, but Yugi was multiple steps ahead of her. He had already crossed the tracks and was about to duck under the safety arm, had he not spotted his best friend still trying to gather her things.

He was safely out of the train's pathway, yet, when he saw how Anzu was still struggling to get the rest of her things, the seventeen year old male panicked. He quickly dropped the items he had in his arms to help Anzu get the rest of her items.

"Come on, we've got to hurry!" Yugi ushered his friend to move faster.

Everything was happening so fast, that time felt like it was slowing down. The wailing of the warning bells became drown out from the squealing of brakes, as the train attempted to slow down when the conductor spotted the teens on the tracks from his window. The train's electronic whistle rang through the air just as the headlights of the passenger train started to illuminate Anzu and Yugi's soaked forms. Wheels began to lock up from an emergency break, but it was of no use. The train had been going too fast to slow down in the given distance it had. It was too close for the teens to avoid from getting hit unless one of them acted fast.

It was a split second decision. He had no time to think, just do. Yugi used all the strength, courage, and will he had, to push Anzu out of the path of the train, even if it was just a few inches away from the tracks. She was out of harm's way. Next, he focused on attempting to get to her side, to get to safety. Yugi knew within just a second, it was too late for him. He watched as Anzu stumbled and snapped her head over her shoulder to look at him. Her beautiful face was soaked; covered with what could have been tears, her hair clung to her face, and her beautiful blue eyes were red and puffy. The only thing he could offer her was one last smile, even if it was sorrowful. He only had just a few more inches to go for safety, just two more steps and he could be at her side.

"YU-" The whistle of the train masked Anzu's voice, along with the force of being slammed into by the two-hundred-eighty-nine, thousand pound train crushing his body.

* * *

He wanted to scream, but he couldn't. There was a horrible unbearable pain, but for only a second. Then there was the agonizing void of silence and darkness. He could not hear the squealing of brakes anymore, nor could he see Anzu's beautiful face. He felt lighter like all of his doubts and worries had just been eased. He oddly felt at peace, despite just being hit by a train, and becoming the headliner for tonight's news program. Such an odd feeling. Yet at the same time, he felt nothing at all.

Even though the deadly accident had just occurred not even a few seconds ago, Yugi felt like it happened many, many years ago. It was all fuzzy to him, even though he was known for his good memory; he could hardly even remember what the whistle of the train sounded like. He felt his mind seep into the calming darkness. The teenager was in bliss as his mind became unfocused, it was like falling asleep after a stressful day.

That bliss feeling of just pure nothingness as he floated in the vast empty space, disappeared rather quickly as the young man was floating out of his dark relaxed state and into one of warmth and enlightening.

 _'What... is... this...?'_

Where was he? What was that? Who was that woman smiling down on him with long Auburned colored hair and gentle gray eyes?

"Yugi, my sweet little boy, what's that you have in your hand?" Ah, now he knew, that beautiful voice was his calm and caring mother. Her round doe-eyes closed when she smiled brightly and picked the young boy up.

"Now, now, give momma Papa's card back. I know how you like to hold on to it, but you don't want to tear do it?" The boy shook his small head quickly, and handed his mother the card.

"Take really, good care wove it. It's Papa's Dark Magician! "He told his mother in a high pitched gentle voice.

In his continuous, the boy was aware of everything going on. This wasn't some creepy dream where he was young child and his mother was nearly a decade younger; it was one of his earliest memories. One with his father in it. Speaking of that man-

"Chiyo? Yugi? I'm home, " The familiar soft voice called to him and his mother in the distance.

Yugi's younger self squirmed in his mother's arms, until he was put down by the woman. "Papa! Papa!" He called out excitedly rushing over to the taller male, and hugged his father's leg lovingly.

A soft chuckle cam from his father, as he was picked up. He also heard the faint giggling of his mother. "Did you have a good day at work, Hakuba?" Yugi's mother's lovely voice always seemed to be brighter and more cheerful around his father. It always puzzled him, but now looking back at it; he now understood why. It was a sign of love.

"It was well, busy as always-"

"Can we play? Can we? " The four, almost five, year old Yugi interrupted his father, asking him to play with him.

Yugi's mother pouted and popped Yugi's nose lightly. "Yugi, let your father rest. He's been working all day. If you be a good boy for him the I'll think about letting you go visit Anzu tomorrow. "

The small boy released a whine, as his bottom lip trembled. A small warning sign of the threatening tears to come. Yugi's father sighed and ruffled his son's hair. "Fine. If that's what you want, I'll play a game with you. But one only, you understand little man?"

A bright smile appeared on the tri-colored toddler's face as he hugged his father's neck. "Thank you, thank you, thank you Papa!" The boy cheered happily, causing his father to laugh.

The scene slowly started to fade from Yugi's mind, leaving his chest with a funny warm like feeling. He had nearly forgotten what it was like hearing his mother's and father's voices, and how it felt to be held close by both of them. A faint smile pulled at Yugi's cold lips as he returned to that odd sensation of floating in utter darkness.

It felt like millenniums had passed by him. The silence of sheer nothingness had an odd effect of making time slow down to where a minute felt like it took ten years to pass. Slowly another enlightening sensation flow through his body. Though it wasn't quite like the first time... The warmth the feeling brought last time, had grown cold. Sniffling could be heard, along with muffled cries of 'Why..?'

As the scene developed Yugi instantly tried to go back to the darkness that had surrounded him from before. He did not have to wait for the blurry images to become clear. Yugi already knew that this was not something he want to go through a second time. Unfortunately his memories had other plans as they forced their way into his mind.

Painful loud cries of agony, rang in his ears. The young boy of only six years of age, opened his door slightly to peek his head out to see who was 'crying'.

"Why?! Why?! Why?! WHY!?"  
A loud thud came from down the hall in the living room of his small home.

Yugi slowly exited his room, as fear pulsed through his tiny body. Something felt off with each step he took. A heavy feeling settled in his chest when he peered around the corner of the hallway and the family-room of his home. His six year-old self's amethyst eyes widened to the extreme, as he spotted his mother crumbled on the floor in front of their front door, with a police officer wearing a grim look on his face.

"Momma?" Yugi's voice cracked as he stumbled toward his sobbing mother.

"No, no, no... Please... Please come back to me! To us, Hakuba! " The female with long auburn hair pleaded.

A feeling that was a mixture of worry, fear, and despair filled the boy's heart as he knelt down next to his upset mother. "Momma, what's wrong? Shhh, shhh, don't cry. Big kids don't cry, remember?"

His innocent eyes looked up at the police officer as the male knelt down next to him and his mother. "Son, at time like these... Big kids should cry... "The officer held his hand out for Yugi's mother to take, helping her to the couch, as another officer entered; one that was female.

The boy looked confused and troubled over the matter, as the female officer closed their entry door and escorted him to his weeping mother's side.

"Hakuba... My sweet Hakuba..." He heard his mother's muffled cries that were released into a pillows she was currently clenching to her chest.

"Why is my momma crying? Why is she calling for my dad?" He asked absent mindedly and moved closer to his mother and hugged her, offering sweet ignorant comfort. "Momma, Yugi's right here. I'm a big boy like Dad, so I'll be here for you."

With no warning Yugi's mother latched onto him, pulling him close into her bosom and hiding her face into his oddly soft multi-colored spiked hair. "...I...I'm sorry my sweet little boy. I'm so.. so sorry," She cooed swaying slightly from side to side with the young lad in her arms.

Yugi wrapped his arms around his mother 'protective like', while the police officers watched in silences, waiting for them, for Yugi's mother to be calm. Eventually, she calmed her tears, but not the sea of despair in her soul, as she looked up at the two carriers of bad news.

"How? Just how did he die? I... He was perfectly happy and healthy this morning!"

Die? Someone had died? Who? Who died-... The moment of realization hit the young boy hard. It turned the officers replies and his mother's hoarse questions into just faint muffled words, while his thoughts and emotions created a typhoon inside his fragile mind. The feeling of sudden emptiness and loneliness passed through him, while all comforting warmth left him.

"Dad...Dad is gone?... H-He left...us?" Yugi's words were cracked as he forced him to interrupt the adults depressing conversation. Tears cascaded down his reddening cheeks, while he started to sniffle his clogged up nose. Soft hiccups turned into full blown wailing as he screamed and pleaded for his father to come home.

His mother and the police officers fell silent, startled by Yugi's sudden outburst of sorrow. His mother's own tears started to fall once more as she pulled her baby boy closer and rocked with him in her arms to calm him, as well as herself. "It's okay... It's okay sweetie. He just.. just went to...to heaven early, that's all," She desperately tried to calm her son down.

The scene became foggy before clearing up a few moments later with a different scene, another bad memory from his father's passing. His funeral. The teen could hardly bare these upsetting memories from his past. It made him question why he was even remembering this, at this moment in time.

Yugi remember putting on the emotionless poker face, avoiding all eye-contact, all interactions with people other than his mother. He remembered kept his eyes glued to the floor, not even wanting to look at the latest current photo of his deceased father. He didn't want to cry in front of so many strangers, friends, and family. He couldn't cry, he wouldn't cry. No matter how hard it was, he would wait till he was completely alone to release those tears.

Finally, the horrible reminder was over. Even though he couldn't hardly focus his disoriented mind, Yugi attempted to control his overloading emotions. He fought the stinging tears in his eyes, the sniffling of his nose, and the soft hiccups he had.

' _Get it together Mutou! It's in the past... What would everyone say if you woke up crying over something nearly twelve years ago?'_

The seventeen year-old managed to calm himself down by taking a few deep breaths, or what felt like a deep breaths. He allowed his mind to slowly go blank as he recalled the empty world around him.

He began to wonder about Anzu, the girl he loved. Yugi smiled to himself, a soft goofy grin of a love struck man. The more he thought about her looks, personality, the moments they had shared; the wider it grew. He wonder if the giddy feeling he was feeling was actually love, or some weird fetish he had developed over the years he had known the female. When he thought of it that way, he felt like an old pervert; like his grandfather. He would have to ask his grandfather about that when he woke up.

The young man felt a stab in his chest when he thought of his grandfather and 'waking up'. What if he wasn't going to be waking up anytime soon?He had been struck by a train, or was that all a dream? The male pursed his lips, well at least he thought he did. His body was too numb to tell what he was actually doing or to feel any actual pain. His heart sank deeper, and deeper into the darkness as he started to recall his last thoughts before this... this 'black out.'

No, he didn't regret what he did. His unintentional 'suicide', was something he actually felt rather proud of. He saved a life, he saved a life that was one of the most important ones to him. The life of his beast friend, of the girl he loved. No way was he regretting it. But what he did regret was not doing the simple things that he could have done earlier that day.

He should of told his mother and grandfather bye, despite having toast shoved in his mouth from running late. He could have agreed to hanging out with his friends, Honda and Ryuzaki. Even though she was already dating Otogi, Yugi wished he had confessed his one-sided attraction to Anzu. So he could at least have some closure to this unrequited love, even in his death. Maybe he should have practice running a bit more. If he was a bit faster, he could have moved quicker and gotten himself to safety. There was so many "if's", "coulds", "should haves", and "wishes" that filled his mind. Just so many things he could have done differently to avoid him being here in this.. lonesome place. Hopefully... this was just a dream and he would wake up soon to his mother shaking him and telling his groggy form he was late for school.

* * *

Amazingly, Yugi start to become aware of the things 'outside' this dark and lonely world he was in. It was an odd sensation he felt, as his body slowly started to lose the numbness feeling he felt for what Yugi thought, had been ten billion years. He was so relieved that he could now tell where his fingers and toes were. But that wasn't the only thing new, he felt the breeze of strong wind gusts, along with the smell of...saltwater?

How was he at the beach? On the other side of town? Didn't he just get killed, or fatally injured?

This didn't make sense to Yugi as he thought over these new sudden freedom. He continued to think more critically about his situation. As a result, he failed to notice the extra weight sitting upon his hips, or the fact that he could move, and open his eyes again.

"Hey...Hey kid wake up," A female voice called out to Yugi, followed by pokes to his round cheeks, which annoyed him.

Thinking the person would leave him alone if pretended to be 'asleep' or well.. 'dead' in this case, Yugi remained perfectly still. He heard a huff, which made him think the person (who he was now aware of) sitting on his waist, would leave him be. Too bad he was wrong.

" Oh for the love of the living! You're not in purgatory anymore so, wake up you idiot!" The voice suddenly snapped, before Yugi's body was suddenly assaulted by pokes that felt like jabs to his sides, cheeks, and stomach.

Unable to bear this treatment that assaulted him with a ticklish sensation, Yugi squirmed under his attacker's attacks trying to avoid them. "Okay! Okay! I-I'll get up!" He answered opening his eyes slightly, adjusting to the bright light that threatened to blind him.

He half expected to see Anzu on his hips keeping him down as she poked him, when he opened his large amethyst eyes. Well, that was what he wanted it to be. Unfortunately what he got was a bright blonde haired girl, that appeared to be just fifteen, maybe fourteen; sitting on him with annoyed expression. Her eyes were a gray-blue in color, hidden behind half framed glasses. A few freckles could be seen on her round cheeks, if one looked closely. But it was the girl's apparel the made Yugi blink and blush slightly. Her small body was dressed in a pure white dress that left very little to the imagination and on her back, where two small feather covered wings. His amethyst eyes narrowed as he focused on her wings solely.

This had to be a dream inside of a dream. And it was one messed up double-dream.

"...Why are you staring at me like that? Are you some kind of pervert!? The female's voice snapped at him loudly, causing his eardrums to ring from her high-pitched yelling. "Why don't you just get your mind out of the gutter, and sit up!"

Yugi had a bead of sweat dropped the side of his face, from the girl' command. "You're sort of making that difficult at the moment, by sitting on me."

The blonde haired girl huffed as she stood and moved a step back from Yugi, as extra precaution from him looking up her dress. "Better?"

"Y-Yeah. Thanks," Yugi said giving her his soft smile as he sat up, and rubbed the back of his head. He allowed his eyes wander around him, taking in his surroundings. He had a strange feeling about this place. Bright orbs of light that reminded him of falling snow, were drifting upwards slowly; unnaturally. The ground beneath him was made of a water life substance; Yugi was suprised he sit on it without falling in or even getting wet. The stationary surface of the water reflected a bright cloudless day. Instead of the warmth that could be felt on such a beautiful bright blue sun-shiny day, he could only feel the cold sensation that radiated from the surface of the water. Yugi looked above him to see if the sky resembled the same breath taking display, only to discover it as its own kind of beauty. The sky above Yugi was pitch black with star-clusters and steakes of pale blues,purples, and greens forming the small galaxies in the world just above their heads. A view like this was such a rare sight in Domino, where the city lights cause the stars to dim. The entire scenery wowed the male, and was distracting Yugi from the girl who was trying to speak to him.

" -And you're not listening to me are you?"

"Huh?" Yugi blinked, breaking away from the spectacular night sky, to gaze at the younger child.

A loud groan came from the girl, followed by a face-palm that caused the teenage boy to feel slightly guilty for zoning out. "A-Ah, I'm sorry. I was star-gazing briefly for the moment. WWhat were you telling me again?" His voice sounded innocent as normal, while he stuttered out his apology and offered an apologetic grin.

A sigh came from the odd girl as she removed her face from her hand, pushed her glasses farther up the bridge of her nose. " I was explaining to you who I was, and where you are," She replied to him, giving Yugi a cold glare in the process. "I would appreciate it if I had your complete and undivided attention.

The male shivered from the frightful look before sitting up better and crossing his legs. " O-Oh! Well then, please continue!"

A smile formed on the girl's face proud she had managed to get the boy to listen to her. " Yugi Muto, this is the world of 'judgement'. The world known as 'Limbo'. And I, Rebecca Hopkinz, am here to sentence you to your final judgement, your afterlife."

A moment of silence passed by them. Yugi had dropped his gaze from the girl, allowing his head to hang down so his bangs covered his childish face. It stayed like this until soft chuckling came from the boy. Rebecca blinked, making a silent 'Wha?' sound as Yugi's laughter grew louder. To the female it sounded sad and some what forced.

"Ah-haha. T-This is sure one of the most messed up dreams I've had in a while!" He said out loud, rubbing the back of his head and flash a wide toothy grin at the girl in white, just like the little goof ball he always was.

"You think... You think this is just a dream?" Rebecca's voice was strained, it had even cracked a bit.

"Huh?" Yugi opened his eyes at the female, tilting his head to the side confused by her words. " Why not? It's obvious none of this is real or can even actually exist in reality. I'm sure I'll open my eyes to see either Mom, or Anzu shaking me wake. This is just a 'bad dream' from me drinking too much mil-"

"Are you serious?! Kid, wake up and smell the roses on your own grave! This isn't some kind of sick and messed up dream. This is real. And you," she paused to place an accusing finger on Yugi's chest, "You, are dead Yugi Motou."

His breath was stuck deep within his throat. Her words...why couldn't she just let him fake his ignorance? Like he did for most of his life? Yugi clenched his teeth together as he dared to look at Rebecca's cold gaze. Her gray-blue eyes seemed like dangerous ice crystals stabbing at his soul.

"No. I'm not-"

"Well if you don't believe me then take a look at this!" Her pale index finger pointed up at the night sky.

Gulping, Yugi looked up in the direction she was pointing. His eyes doubled in size as he witnessed the stars swirling together, forming a giant circle of light that was projecting him and Anzu trying to pick up the items that had been dumped out of her school bag when it had broken.

Conflicting emotions swirled around within the seventeen year-old's heart. No matter how hard he fought with himself, he couldn't look away from the memory being played. It... It was traumatizing to see, to experience a second time.

 _' At the sight of the 'girl' still struggling, 'he' quickly dropped the items he had in his arms at the time to rush to his 'important' person. Bells, flashing lights, screeching wheels, and a sound of a whistle echoed in the rain as the passenger train attempted to slow down to give time for the young friends to escape danger. Yet they still wasted time trying to get the items off the track._

 _'He' peered over his shoulder spotting the train just a mere few seconds away. Out of options and with only one thing on his mind, 'he' pushed the girl off the tracks. The 'girl' had recovered from the push, quickly and spun around. 'He' made an attempt to spare his life, but it ended in failure._

 _"YUGI!" the girl's painful screaming was even louder than the train and the warning bells themselves. Her voice, however, did not reach him. The train struck his body and the impact practically shattered every bone in his bone. An instant kill with his neck being forcibly snapped. The train forced the teen's body under it, where the wheels took their time as it slowed to tormented him. Blood covered the rusted meal and ground, but the light rain soon washed it away. Some of it was pooling at the girl's feet._

 _Screaming, so much painful screaming filled the streets. Her body shook like an earthquake. Her blue eyes widened with fear, and a hands clawed at her chest. She was paralyzed, frozen in place staring at the stopped train, that was caked in her best friend's blood. She had just witnessed a death of one of her most 'important' people. Her reaction is typical to that of any mortal baring witness to such a death. This concludes the first segment of the death report.'_

The stars that had gathered to form his living nightmare, exploded. Dispersing back to their original spots. With the torture put to an end, Yugi 's upper body collapsed and he fell forward in defeat. His face masked by the shadow from his bangs.

Rebecca's face was softer as she slowly approached the male on his knees. She said nothing to comfort him. She simple placed a hand on his head, threading her slim fingers in his tri-colored locks; waiting for him to let it all go, to accept what had become of him, and be become stable. Just as she had done with others, a countless amount of times before Yugi.

Tears streamed down his face. He trembled and hiccuped while he cried and pleaded for a another chance, a chance to do all the things in life he should have done.. A second chance of setting things right.

He screamed, bit his tongue, and isolated himself from Rebecca's comforting hand. He knew he was dead, but he falsely lied to himsel for the sake of remaining sane. But what now? His option of having a blissful sanity of ignorance, was long gone. He could no longer ignore the the cold hard truth. He had died. Yugi Mutou lived no more.

Seconds flowed into minutes, and minutes cascaded into just a little bit over an hour before Yugi had calmed down his crying. But he was far from over his death. No energy remained in his body for him to continue his wailing any longer. He would never be over this, he could never forget it. Why? Why did he find it so peaceful back then? What was blissful about being dead and surrounded by nothing? Nothing should have been blissful, pleasurable, or peaceful about his death. He was hit by train! In front of his best friend, the only girl he loved, and the only person he would romantically love. He had no time to even prepare for his end, it just...happened so unexpectedly.

His mind was in turmoil as his hands rose to his temples and started to squeeze his head, attempting to make all of this... to make everything disappear and fade to black.

A soft flicked to his nose made Yugi freeze, and open his eyes that he hadn't known he had closed. In front of him was Rebecca, squatting so their faces were the same level. Her glasses were gone, folded up and held in one of her hands so her gray-blue doe-like eyes were fully exposed. She watched him with a gaze that showed not pity or sympathy, but one of empathy.

As if she had known what death had been like.

"Your death, was not supposed to happen. It was a..." She paused looking down regretful."-a miscalculation in our 'network', Yugi. A slip up in one of our officer's duties. Nothing is worth more than a life, I...we know that the best," Rebecca slowly stood up, turning her back to the male.

For the first time, Yugi saw the blonde haired girl's wings fully. He said nothing as he gazed in wonder at them. When he first saw the appendages he thought they were white and pure, but her wings were a pale grey and tainted with unknown sins.

" I can not give your mortal life back to you, that is beyond the natural law. But I can give you a different life." She spoke in a more uplifting tone."Since you have died before your time, you can not be sent to Heaven or Hell, and if you choose to stay here your soul, the memories of you, and any proof of your existence will slowly start disappearing and be lost to the wrath of Time. So instead, I will offer you a life of despair. Doomed to never be judge and to never go to your afterlife. A life condemned to sorrow and regret of aiding the souls who can pass on to the afterlife you will never receive."

Yugi slowly stood up onto his feet, although his legs shook and threatened to give out on him. " Never to be judged? Never to go to my afterlife... but this, this is..is already my 'afterlife' ?"

Rebecca turned around to see the disheartened look on Yugi's face. She felt a tug at her heat as she gave him a sad smile. "So, will you accept this offerthen? If you choose so, you'll become one of us, a 'Shinigami'; a spirit of death."

Yugi took an unsteady breath, still unwilling to believe any of this was truly real, before he gave Rebecca a firm nod with a disheartened gaze. " I do. If... If I become a 'death spirit' then... then," Yugi attempted to smile as a thought of hope crossed his mind, while a as a spark of light brought the life back to his dull amethyst eyes. "Then perhaps I can see my family and friends again from a distance, and watch over them while I guide the souls."

Rebecca gave him a smile of her own, but it seemed to be rather...melancholy. "Perhaps,"She replied not confirming or denying the boy's cling to false hope. " But let's not get too carried away, first we need to get you to the home base- err, well 'Sanctuary'. "

Yugi pursed his lips, not comprehending Rebecca's words. " Home base? Sanctuary? What's that?"

A soft chuckle came from the female Shinigami, as she flicked her wrist away from her and Yugi. A mass of swirling purple mist formed, creating a passage way, a dark and mysterious portal." Well, to put it in simple words, it shall be your 'home' and base of operations. Currently there is about One-thousand-twenty-nine, err well thirty now; Shinigami living there. It's 'our' home. It offers comfort and support for most, also a warm bed, food, and social interactions. " The female seemed to have a 'happy' aura around her when she spoke about 'Sanctuary.'

" I'm sure you'll love it, so c'mon. No need to stay here and rot away like our corpses, " She giggled moving towards the swirling portal of purple matter, however, Yugi didn't budge from his spot. Rebecca notice this and paused her movements. "Too soon?"

Yugi simply nodded and moved towards her with a defeated smile and fighting back another round of tears. "Yeah, way too soon. "

She sighed and took his wrist in her hand, pulling Yugi closer who seemed completely shocked by this action. "Sorry about that," Without another word, Rebecca stepped into the portal, tugging Yugi with her.

"Welcome to Sanctuary, Yugi Mutou. Welcome to your new home."

* * *

 **AR:** _What a first chapter, am I right?_  
I hope you all enjoyed the edited and remastered version of the first chapter of Sanctuary, it's really only one of the few things that I had kept from the original draft of Sanctuary.  
Of course, I made some edits and upgrades here and there, oh, and I watered down Yugi's death just a bit to keep it sorta mellow for a first chapter.  
While this chapter is only 7,013 words, the other chapters will be a lot _longer._ I didn't want to it to be overkill.  
 _Now updating wise for this story...  
_ There will be no specific set of time for updates, simply because I'm horrible at keeping to the schedules I make!  
You can, however, expect a chapter, or two, every month.

I hope you liked the first chapter of Sanctuary, and remember to both leave a review and follow the story!  
See you all real soon!~


	2. A Paradise?

_**Chapter II  
**_

 ** _A Paradise?_**

 _"Inside of my soul has been shaken, my sanity has been taken."_

* * *

The darkness had returned, but it was no longer comforting.

Wisps of purple and specks of small multi colored lights faded in and out of Yugi's vision. Once he and Rebecca had passed through the swirling portal, Yugi hadn't been able to see the female. He could on feel her petite hand holding on to his tightly and the bitter cold that filled this desolate and obsolete world they were running through.

Yugi struggled to keep up with Rebecca's pace as she hurried through the portal's own world. His legs were burning with exhaustion as the cold began to stiffen his joints and make it harder for him to move. A tempting voice whispered in his ear, ' _Just let go, stay here and you can wake up from this nightmare.'_ It was oh-so tempting. To just allow himself to fall behind, to leave Rebecca and fall into the bitter coldness of the void. Yugi could already feel the pleasant, but painful numbness, that tingled in his toes and fingers. All he had to do was just give in, let himself slip into the darkness and wake up. Then he could see Anzu again, he would be able to see his mother and grandfather again too.

"Yugi! Don't listen to the void, keep moving!" Rebecca yanked on his arm, pulling him out of the comfort of the cold, and into warm and painful reality he was now living. "Demons lurk here, they will try to eat your soul and will if you dwell here too long. We have to move, now!"

The teen snap back to his senses. The temptations were pretty lies trying to absorb and destroy him. "R-Right!" The male quickened his pace, staying right on Rebecca's heels as she lead them through the strange and sinister world.

"We're nearly there, don't let up! Keep pushing. Don't let your soul be influenced by their whispers," Rebecca encouraged Yugi.

They were nearly there, to his new home, to Sanctuary. He could make it! Yugi kept his mind focus on his goal, on Sanctuary. The more he focused, the louder the whispers. The faster he ran after Rebecca, the colder he felt. Just when he thought that was doing well with keeping up with his guide, Yugi felt their hands on him. The demons were grabbing him, pulling him into their void.

"Help!" He cried out and pulled on Rebecca's hand. "They're trying to pull me back!"

" Think of the divine! Recite a prayer!"

"Which one?!"

"Anyone, just do it!" Rebecca shouted. "Hurry, we're almost at the gate!"

Yugi closed his eyes, relying on Rebecca to guide him during his blindness. He recalled a short prayer from a Shakespearean play, "O' Lord, who lends me life. L-lend me a heart repent with thankfulness!"

When the words left his mouth, Yugi felt the claws of the demons disolve away from his arms and shoulders with ghastly screaming that echoed around him. He turned his head to look back, to see if he could catch a glimpse of the demons, but Rebecca had used all of her strength and pulled him forward. Yugi found himself propelled forward and into a bright light that burned his eyes from its intensity.

"Brace yourself, Yugi!" Rebecca's hand left his and Yugi panicked briefly. Closing his eyes once more, Yugi stretched out his arms in front of his body as he felt himself fall forwards.

Wind surged around his body and the light had dulled behind his eyelids. Slowly, Yugi opened his eyes and found himself staring up at a bright blue cloudless sky. Yugi's heart raced as he felt gravity hurel his body down towards the ground.

"Ahhh!" Before Yugi could even roll over to see how far the ground was from him, his back crashed into lush lawn and the boy was sent tumbling along the ground. Yugi managed to stop himself on his stomach and quickly pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. His body was covered in a cold sweat, and his lungs were burning as he struggled to catch his breath. His entire body ached, but the pain was bearable, despite his horrible crash landing.

What in the world had just happened? Moving to sit on the ground, Yugi cradled his head in between his knees, and gazed the green grass beneath him in horror. He had died and he was supposed be going to his afterlife as a Shinigami, so then...Why had he almost died _again_?!

"Well, you took one heck of a landing." Yugi lifted his head from his knees to gaze at Rebecca, who seemed perfectly fine, standing before him. Not a sling stain on her white dress or a hair out of place on her head.

"What was that just now? Was that supposed to be a sanctuary? Because it was more like Hell than a place of refuge." Yugi's panic was still clear in his voice, the teen shivered as he remembered the cold that had plagued his body. Now he was in warmth, sunlight beamed down on this new world and gave it life. The complete opposite of the place he and Rebecca had just exited. "I thought I was a goner again!"

"That's because it was," The girl explained, offering a hand to Yugi. "The place we traveled through was known as the Shadow Realm. It is a void, a dimension that exist, but also does not. It is the place where evil is born, and good dies."

Yugi shivered. Whether it was out of fear or something else was a mystery to even him. He took Rebecca's offered hand and pulled himself to his feet. "Okay, that explains the demons, but why were they trying to keep me there?" Yugi's violet eyes reflected the fearful thoughts he had. "Were they trying to kill me?"

The blond shrugged her shoulders, her wings mimicked the action. "Beats me. That's the first time they attacked a pulse* like yourself. Well, at least on my shift. I'm not sure what the other Greeters have experienced."

Yugi frowned. He didn't like her answer nor the attitude she gave him. This girl, how did she become someone who meet those freshly departed? He had...He had just… Yugi swayed, his sight becoming unfocused as his world came crashing down around him. He fell backwards, his eyes wide in terror as the weight of his death came crashing back down on his shoulders. "I...I'm really dead."

A groan came from Rebecca. " Not this again." She to a squat in front of Yugi, glaring at the boy. " You need to man up and get a hold of yourself, I've had mere kids take their own death _better_ than you. So suck it up. There's nothing you can do about it. You croaked, you went through purgatory, and then had a fit about it before crossing into our home. You should be over it by now, or at least accepting of it."

Rebecca stood up, hands on her hips as she looked down at Yugi, annoyed. " C'mon. I don't have time to stand here and wait for your balls to grow back. I have newbies to teach and I've go to get you to Kujaku before she wrings my neck for being late with a new arrival."

Why was she being so brutal? Yugi couldn't meet her gazed and looked away, feeling even worse. Instead of being defiant and continuing to sulk, the teenager stood back up. He stayed quiet, refusing to speak or even look at Rebecca. Instead Yugi kept his eyes trained on the ground, on the vibrant green grass. The departed teen smiled sadly as he noticed how the grass was much more 'alive' in this world than in the world he had lived in. ' _So the grass is greener on the other side.'_

Rebecca grabbed Yugi's wrist again and the male finally looked at her with melancholy eyes. " Look, I..I don't mean to seem unsympathetic, but there is a time and a place for everything. Right now, we don't have time for you to wail and drown in self pity. Just tough up for now and carry yourself proudly. You are one of the few Sacrifices. They don't appear much any more. " The girl had a faint blush on her cheeks as she attempted to apologize. "Just stick close to me while I guide you to the administration building. It's just a short walk from here."

Yugi nodded, but he still did not speak to the girl. He was too mentally exhausted for a conversation, so instead he focused on admiring and observing his surroundings.

This place was otherworldly, its natural beauty couldn't be compared to the Living world's. Sanctuary was nothing like Yugi had seen before. Different time periods had crashed together into one to form the beautiful buildings and landscape of Sanctuary. Some structures were clearly as old as Ancient times, others Victorian , and a few were even a mix between modern and ancient. Yugi wish he could take his time and explore the land, especial the Coliseum like structure that loomed ahead of them in the distance. He had almost thought that was the place Rebecca was dragging him off to, but she took a sharp right and lead him inside a normal looking multi-story, office building...

Yugi's hopes were crushed.

* * *

The inside the administration building was nothing that Yugi had expected. It was high tech, modern, and luxurious. In the lobby, computers line the left side of the massive open area, and multiple people were sitting at them, looking bored as they typed away and used to touch screen monitors. On the right side, was a lounge like area, a T.V. was airing a game show on silent with subtitles in English. Chairs and sofas of the highest quality, were arranged in a flat 'W' shape. The entire lobby was decorated in cool grey, but tinted blue from the dull led lights that illuminated.

At the front desk, which was black and shaped like a 'U', Rebecca leaned against it as she casually spoke to the receptionist. Yugi waited for her to finish her business silently and kept himself preoccupied by looking around the stunning lobby. At the impressive computer station, Yugi's eyes caught sight of a hair style similar to his own.

 _'Huh?'_ Yugi took a step towards the male, only to be stopped by Rebecca who clamped a bracelet around his left wrist. The boy looked down at his wrist then back up to Rebecca. The bracelet was made of silver, but a strange blue bolt of light made circuits around the metal.

"What's this?" He held up his wrist and pointed at the bracelet.

" A security precaution. Just encase your soul was tampered with before our entry into Sanctuary. It's also a storage unit. All information gathered about your soul will be stored in it until your release from here. We have to gather as much information about you to correctly place you with an appropriate partner, team, and sector."

Yugi blinked and gave Rebecca a confused smile. "Could you explain?"

Rebecca smiled back at Yugi. "No, Kujaku will. You'll meet her soon. Now follow me, little duckling."

The teen huffed at Rebecca's taunt. "I'm not a duck."

"To me, you are. You're new, follow me around, and can't fly. Therefore, a duckling." Rebecca lead Yugi deeper into the building. They went through several doors before coming to a stop in a clinic looking room.

Yugi found relief when he noticed the medical room resembled the typical setup he was used to seeing when he went to his family's doctor for checkups. The room was white with a grey furniture. A paper sheet covered the medical bed, two rolling stools were stationed in the room. One was in the corner closest to the door, the other was occupied by a woman with hair as golden as the sun itself, sitting at a desk and playing a simple game on the touch screen of a high-tech computer.

Rebecca snorted loudly. "Slacking off again?"

The older blonde jumped at the sound and swiveled around in her seat to greet her guest with a glare. "I wouldn't be if someone was on time for once."

Yugi's face flushed at his first sight of the beautiful woman. Her long golden hair only served to highlight her body's features. The new female had dark violet eyes, darker than Yugi's own. She wore a light coating of makeup that only served to heighten her natural beauty. She wore clothes that flattered her body, underneath the white lab coat she wore, a light grey corset that made her bosom look full and perky, a dark purple vest help give shape to her slim torso, and a matching skirt showed off her slim and elegant long legs. This woman was a temptress!

Rebecca rolled her eyes and shoved Yugi forward. "Blame him, he was a slow one to wake up."

Yugi felt his cheeks grow even warmer when he was suddenly pushed forward towards the woman of pure beauty. He looked over his shoulder to scold Rebecca for trying to blame him for her tardiness. "You can't just put the blame on the victim here! "

"Oh just ignore her," The older woman waved a dismissive hand in front of her disapproving face. " Becca here, is just sour that she's on Greeter duty until she can prove to be more sensitive towards other's feelings. And from her attitude, it's clear she's not making any progress with being empathetic."

Rebecca was fuming, her face red and her eyes narrowed at the older woman. "Just confirm the transfer so I can go about the rest of my day, I don't have time so mess around with a bimbo like yourself."

"Fine, fine." The older woman reached out for Yugi's left wrist and pressed her own similar bracelet against his. Yugi watched in away as the light on his bracelet sped up it's circuit until it was glowing blue completely, before flashing twice and turning purple. She released Yugi's wrist once the glowing dulled.

"There, you can go now Rebecca. And try to be nice next time! I can tell this boy is still dwelling about the past! Your job is to comfort, not make it worse!"

The girl in pure white huffed and turned her back, leaving without another word. Yugi watched her go with cautious eyes, incase she decided to target him again with her rude words. When Rebecca had left the room, he heard a soft sigh come from the beautiful woman he was left with.

"I apologize for her attitude. She used to be a sweet girl, but after her partner fell out of our ranks, she became so bitter." Yugi turned his attention back to the woman and nodded, though he cast a second glance over his shoulder. "So she's still mourning for their loss...?"

" I believe so, but enough of this." The woman smiled and offered a hand to Yugi. "My name is Mai. Mai Kujaku. I am the head of the research and development branch of Sanctuary and in charge of examining each new soul entering Sanctuary for their Afterlife."

So this was Kujaku, the person Rebecca had spoke of that could answer his questions. Taking her offered hand, Yugi shook it once happily. "It's nice to meet you, my name is Yugi Mutou."

When they both withdrew their hands from their greeting, Mai used a hand to cover her mouth as she laughed. "I already know who you are! You took your time dwelling in purgatory, so we had plenty of time to gather information on you. It's nothing to be ashamed of though, normally we have to rush to finish, but you gave my department more than enough time to get the job done!"

Yugi looked away sheepishly. He didn't know how to respond to her, talking about his time when he arrived here… was painful. Desperate to change the subject, he clasped his hands behind his back, hiding them. "Rebecca said you could answer my questions. Would you mind explaining...everything then? I'm actually confused on how I even ended up here."

Mai smirked and crossed her arms over her chest. "Of course I can and will. We are just beginning, in due time, everything will be explained. But first, my child, I need to examine you completely. With that said, I need you to take off your clothes."

Yugi looked dumb founded. " Are you serious?"

"Completely. " Mai answered, her voice light. She reached out for the blue medical curtain and pulled it in between Yugi and herself. "Now strip."

The teen sighed and forced himself to do as he was told. Slowly, Yugi discarded his clothes. He pushed his school jacket from his shoulders. Unbuttoned his white collared shirt and let it fall to the floor. He pulled his gray undershirt over his head dropped it on the ground. Yugi looked down at his discarded clothes and his eyes widened in surprise. The clothes the he had worn, hand been fine when on his body, now they appeared torn and soiled. They were in shreds stained with blood, his blood.

Yugi pressed his lips together and turned his head away from the sight. The teen unbuckled his belt, toed off his shoes and stepped out of his pants. Yugi kept his socks and boxers on to allow himself some decency during his examination with Mai. After gathering his clothes in his arms, Yugi pulled the curtain aside.

"Oh dear, you had a brutal one." Yugi's eyes clouded with despair as Mai commented about the horrible state his clothes were in. She reached her hands out towards Yugi. "Give me your clothes, but keep your shoes. I'll have new ones brought here for you. "

Yugi sighed and handed over his tattered clothing to the female. " Is this mandatory?" He asked as went to place his shoes by the medical bed and took his seat on the uncomfortable piece of furniture.

"Yes, I need to examine your body to determine the cause of death. It'll be a bit painful, but you can bare with it." Mai discarded Yugi's clothes in a bio-hazard bin underneath the grey desk. " By determining what killed you and where, then we can learn what area to protect the most so your second death does not occur."

"Second death?" Yugi watched the woman stand from her seat and approach him with a sad smile.

"Us Shinigami are not immortal. Yes, we can live forever if lucky, but we can still die a second time. If enough damage is inflict near the area that originally harbored the wound that killed our human self, then we will die again. So you see, this examination is important." Mai spoke with seriousness as she took a hold of Yugi's arm and lightly began pressing in upward motion along his arm. "Let me know when you begin to feel some pain."

"Will do."

Mai's hands palpated Yugi's body gently while having him lie down on his back. When nothing out of the ordinary was presented, she had Yugi turned over on his stomach, exposing his back to her. She lightly began to feel for abnormalities along his lower back and working her way up his spin slowly. "Do you feel tender anywhere?"

Yugi shook his head before resting it on his folded arms. "No, nothing."

Mai hummed and her hands began to approached the base of Yugi's neck. The teen noticed how her actions became more cautious and he touch much more lighter, as if she was afraid. When Mai's fingers brushed against the upper portion of the back of his neck, Yugi stiffened. A sharp pain stabbed through him and traveled from the base of his neck down his back. "There." Yugi forced out through clenched teeth as he was crippled by the horrible pain.

"Here?" Mai asked as pressed slightly firmer on the spot.

Yugi gasp as his vision became blurred and his body locked up on demand. He was unable to move or voice his distress and he silently suffered in the agony that caused his ultimate demise. Tears prickled in his eyes. _' How? How did I escape feeling this pain when I died!?'_

Slowly the agony he suffered from eased into just a dull ache. His arms and legs were numb and tingled when he forced himself to sit up properly. Yugi kept his breathing even and looked towards Mai for an explanation.

"It seems a broken neck caused you to meet your end. A fortunate, but unlucky end. " She recorded the information on her computer before pressing her own bracelet to its hard drive. Mai then pressed her bracelet again to Yugi's with a sad smile. "A Sacrifice too. Hopefully, the one you saved will not abuse the extended life that you gave them."

Yugi looked down at the white tiled floors and placed a hand of the back of his neck, barely touching the sensitive area. His mind drifted to Anzu, her beautiful smile still clear in his mind. "I know… she wouldn't waste it." He lifted his gaze to Mai, his eyes full of passion and sadness. " She would never abuse it."

"My my, you're such optimistic. That's a rare quality to come across nowadays. " Mai clapped her hands together once. " It's quite refreshing, but try not to get ate up. Not all of us Shinigami like to play nice." Mai's eyes narrowed, her smiled became more sinister. "Some of us are still haunted by our past demons and aren't the best company to surround yourself with."

Yugi felt his body grow cold from Mai's warning. Steeling his nerves, Yugi crossed his legs and sat up straighter. His vibrant violet eyes were locked with Mai's. "Can you tell me the information I should know to keep myself from being ate?"

"Of course dear, after all, I'm here to help you. " Mai's sinister expression did not change as she took her seat back on the rolling stool and crossed her legs. " Sanctuary is a neutral dimension, A place in between the heavens and the World of The Living. Here, we Shinigami exist to complete the work bestowed to us by the gods."

"This place was created by the Goddess Horakhty, she is one of the forgotten gods. The tales of old claim she gave up her seat in the heavens to save a lonesome king from an eternal darkness he was not meant to fall into. So, she gave him Sanctuary and her powers. There's more to the story, but I won't bore you with it now. " Mai straightened her back and smiled softly at Yugi. "I'm sure you are wondering about us," She gestured to herself and Yugi. "What we are, what our purpose is, what will become of you."

Yugi laughed lightly with a shy smile. "Yeah, I am. I know what the folk tales say about Shinigami, how they are the gods and angels of death, but I have a feeling it's not entirely true."

"Ah! You're the first one in a while to even think the tales were wrong." Mai's eyes were alive with delight. "Such a bright mind you have."

Yugi blushed at the comment, and didn't bother in denying her claim. Back when he was alive he hadn't really believed in ghosts or spirits. He also had been unsure what truly laid beyond the grave. He had never given it much thought. Yugi hadn't believed he would die so young. "So what are we?"

Mai's smile faded, her joy vanished and she became serious. Crossing her arms over her chest, her dark purple eyes locked onto Yugi in a gloomy gaze. " We are the souls who have been cheated by those who deceive Fate. The souls who were unable to fulfill their destinies as planned. Either intentionally or unintentionally, we lost our lives before out fated time and therefore, we can not be judge and will never be judged. The gods pitied us, so they granted us this afterlife, a life of servitude to helping Fate."

"A Shinigami's purpose is to make sure the major events that are fated to happen, occur. Mainly the gift of life and the curse of death. We guide souls to their fated destinations, either to the World of The Living to begin anew, or to their afterlife. The gates of Heaven or Hell. We also serve to protect the souls of the world from Onmyouji, the corrupted spirits. " Mai's expression and her body tensed at the mentioning of the corrupted. "These spirits are the reason why we, Shinigami, are born. The rob human's of their fate. They use many methods to try and rob humans in attempt to switch places, devour their souls to gain strength, or even just for fun. Those of us who were murdered and became Shinigami, are lucky. We escaped being devoured. Those of us who committed suicide, are strong. Our souls were stronger than the Onmyouji who tried to steal it through self hate. Those of us who died by Sacrifice, are blessed. Because we died trying to save someone from the Onmyouji."

Yugi became solemn, looking down at his lap as he listened to Mai's lesson. He could tell speaking about origins of a Shinigami was tough for the beautiful female. Maybe, she was still struggling with her own death as well.

"Shinigami are granted powers suiting their soul, a set of wings the help guide a soul, and a scythe to use to help protect the souls of others. We exist to serve fate and protect it from the corrupted. Without us, the world would become dark and fate would not exist. No hope would exist."

At the mentioning of wings, Yugi turned his head over his shoulder to look and see if he possessed wings of his own. Seeing nothing of the sort protruding from his back, Yugi returned his attention to Mai."If we… are given wings and a scythe, where are mine and yours?

"Good question!" Mai smiled again and held up a finger. " My wings and scythe are hidden. Yours...well, it's complicated story. When a Shinigami is born, their scythe is born along with them, inside their soul. If the Greeter is not careful, they can accidentally separate the two. " Mai used her hands to provide imagery with her words.

"In your case, when Rebecca was first trying to pull you from purgatory, she accidentally ripped out your scythe and the powers bestowed to you. You'll regain them soon enough. Once we take care of the general 'housekeeping' tasks, you'll go visit a colleague of mine. He'll be of some help to restore your scythe and powers." Mai finished and placed her hands in her lap. "I believe that covers the basics for now. You'll learn more as you gain experience, group up with your partners, and familiarize yourself with Sanctuary. "

"Okay," Yugi nodded, his face serious as he attempted to commit everything Mai explained to him, to memory. " But I still have a questions for you, such as am I getting new clothes? And how do I live this life? Can I still eat and sleep? Are my basic needs still a necessity?"

"Woah there, that's a lot in one go. Just relax, everything will be cleared up shortly. I still have a lot of work to do with you. I need to take your body measurements, your basic personal information, and gauge our soul. I'll try to answer most of your questions, but until then have some patience." Mai turned around on the stool. She pulled up a screen on the computer's monitor and her hand began to tap away on the screen. "I'll have someone bring you a pair of clothes once I've taken you body measurements. "

Mai stopped typing on the screen and reached into the top drawer of her desk and pulled out a basic flexible tape measure. "Now let's set to work. I get my information, and you get your questions answered. Deal?"

Yugi nodded happily and stood up from the Medical bed so Mai could get accurate measurements for his body. A challenging smile had appeared on his face. " _Deal_."

* * *

Yugi sighed in exhaustion and flopped back on the medical bed as Mai completed her final examination. He had been cooped up in this small clinical room for hours now, being poked and prodded for information, while he practically played Twenty Questions with the physician gathering data about his new body and is soul. In the process of the two both trying to acquire answers, Yugi had made many discoveries. The first one was, that even though he had died, a part of his soul still had a lingering attachment to the life he had as a human and his body now still required food, water, and sleep. A second discovery, was a Shinigami was given a partner to battle loneliness and reduce the chance of their souls becoming corrupted. Thirdly, Yugi found out that Shinigami became Onmyouji when they were corrupted by Blight, an infection of darkness and sin that would cause their soul and scythe to become distorted and demonic. Yugi had quickly made the connection that one would not exist without the other. Shinigami were created by Onmyouji, and Onmyouji were created by Shinigami.

Closing his eyes, Yugi allowed his tired body to relax for the moment. He was still without clothes and only had the aid of his boxers and socks to keep his body from being fully exposed to Mai. From what Mai had told him earlier while she was gathering information about his actual soul for partner matching, they would be moving on to the 'fun' things now that the boring part was out of the way. What she meant by fun, Yugi had no idea, but the boy could feel the pressure that this long day had created. He just wanted to sleep. Close his eyes and forget about all of his troubles. If only it was that simple, Yugi had a feeling he would already be in a better place.

Something was tossed on his face, causing Yugi groan as he sat up. He cheered up immediately when he saw that it was a fresh change of clothes.

"Put those on, we're going on a little trip. " Mai smiled brightly. She clenched a decent sized brown package to her chest with both arms, refusing to let go of it.

Yugi didn't hesitate to do as he was told. He pulled on the sleeveless white shirt and the slim fitting black jeans. The young male had to adjust the top slightly, but otherwise the clothing fit his frame perfectly. After slipping his black tennis shoes on to his feet, Yugi approached Mai with a bright smile. " Where are we heading?"

" I thought I would reward you by giving you a simple tour of Sanctuary and then let you meet the members of the team you and your partnered will be apart of . At the moment I can't allow you to meet the one you'll be partnered with, but I can let you meet some of your teammates. "

"A team?" Yugi followed Mai as she left the clinic. "I don't think you explained that to me."

"Each partner pair is a part of a team of two more pairs of partners that aid in tougher or massive missions. " Mai explained as they followed the same path Rebecca had used to guided Yugi to Mai. " Sometimes you need the extra hands to help."

"Oh." Well, he could have guessed the answer for that question. " Are they nice?"

" Who?" Mai paused just before entering the building's lobby.

Yugi bit the inside of his check nervously, before answering the female. "My team and...my partner."

"Of course!" Mai replied immediately, A bright smiled was fixed in place, but it didn't match the concern reflected in her deep violet eyes. " Your team is one of the best Sanctuary has, and the members are friendly and very loyal to each other. As for your partner, I will let you decide on that. They are...difficult to describe with just words. You have to experience them for yourself and form your own opinion."

Yugi sighed at Mai's words. She provided little to no useful information, but he couldn't complain. She had been more than helpful so far, perhaps she wasn't the one to ask about his partner. Maybe, he could ask about his partner when he met the members of his team.

After having their bracelets removed at the front desk of the administration building, he and Mai left the office. Outside, Yugi took in a big breath of fresh air and was pleased to feel the sun's rays warm up his pale skin. He felt relaxed and could almost put his death in the back of his mind. Mai was keeping him distracted so he couldn't think about it, Yugi was grateful for it.

" The place we just came from is the Administration of Sanctuary. It's where all new recruits, missions, punishments, and legal actions report to. We have a group of governors, the Council of The Seven Sacred Guardians, who rule over Sanctuary. Currently, only five of the original seven are present. One of the Seven has lost his life and the King's seat has been missing since the creation of Sanctuary. Even though two officials are missing, the remaining five govern us together peacefully." Mai lead the way and began walking northward, toward the coliseum like building in the distance.

"That, " Mai pointed at the magnificent building in the distance, "Is known as the coliseum. All Shinigami report there to practice their fighting skills and master their powers. There is seven public training areas and one private training area reserved for the council's personal use. Also there is multiple gyms, swimming pools, sport courts, and snack bars available for use as well."

Yugi's eyes were bright with curiosity and it was easy to see the boy's eagerness to go explore the area. Mai chuckled softly and walked alongside of Yugi happily. " You must have been wondering about the coliseum since you got here. " Mai hummed to herself, her eyes gazing at the ancient structure. " I remember the first time I saw it, I had been instantly drawn to it. But, I believe everyone has been at some point. It sticks out. "

Yugi nodded in agreement, his eyes locked on the coliseum. " I've never seen anything like it before. "

"Not many have, but let's continue our tour. We still have the housing district, the shopping community, and the research and development district to explore." Excited to continue learning about Sanctuary and see new sights, Yugi walked slightly faster alongside of Mai. It was another welcomed distraction that would keep his despair at bay.

By the time he and Mai reached the housing district, Yugi's mind was overwhelmed. They had covered so much, but had barely even explored Sanctuary as a whole. The Research and Development district had the most information. Everything regarding training and medical needs were located within it's boundaries. There was even a building called the 'Nursery' that helped the young children who had lost their lived far too early to become a Shinigami, mature. Mai spent most of her time talking about how this section of Sanctuary was the most active due to the coliseum and other factors. The shopping district had by the most passionate place Mai spoke of. Unlike the Research Development portion of Sanctuary, Mai allowed Yugi and her to fully explore this section. Every imaginable store was located in the grand plaza like area. The landscaping was well cared for with shaped hedges, exotic flower beds, brick roads, and beautiful fountains. There was even a massive amount of restaurants and food stalls to choose there, Yugi had spotted a gourmet hamburger diner, and he all but begged Mai to go grab a bite from it. But Mai had refused and carted him away to their next destination while using the excuse that Yugi didn't have the resources yet to buy anything. It had greatly disappointed the teen. Apparently, death did not come with free food.

"This," Mai spoke up again as they reached a portion of Sanctuary that look unreal. "Is the housing district, where you will live. It's your new home."

Sanctuary's housing community was a combination of both old and new. Large\buildings acted as apartment and housing complexes, but each were different in design wise. Some appeared like tropical paradises from a desert, others Gothic, and there were some that even appeared futuristic to Yugi! The single street, was flanked by an assortment of blooming flower trees. Dogwoods, Magnolias, Wisterias, Cherry blossoms, and many more Yugi couldn't name, were in full bloom displaying their beautiful flowers and colors. The street itself was completely white, not even a single blemish on it, through, there were currently many souls who were wandering about. Every few meters laid an elaborate fountain, each seeming to grow in elegance and size than the one before it. At the very end of the white street, Yugi could just faintly see the outline of twin golden ancient pylons standing up right. The teen was in awe. _'Who lives there?'_

"Do you like it?" Yugi was pulled out of his awe by Mai. He had completely forgotten the female had been standing next to him and was still trying to give him a tour of his new home.

"It's amazing!" Yugi's violet eyes shined like polished gems of being here sent shivers down his back. If the exteriors of his home was this gorgeous, he couldn't even imagine what the interior would look like. Yugi watched in awe as he seen other Shinigami soaring over head with stunning multi-colored wings. On the ground, his fellow lost souls proudly had their wings on display while happily chatting, and some were even using magic to show-off.

Violet eyes looked up at Mai in bewildered excitement. "Are you sure we aren't in heaven?"

The blonde let out a loud round of laughter, her eyes closed and her head tossed back. "What kind of lame question is that?" Yugi's smile faltered by Mai's words. "This place seems like a paradise, but remember my words. Some of us are not the most friendliest people. And if you aren't careful, you will get chewed up and spat out. This isn't some walk in the park, kid. " Mai looked down her eyes serious as she placed her hands on her hips. " I've seen it happen many times. You can't turn a blind eye in this world, that blindness, even to your own troubles, will allow darkness to fester and then I'll be reaping your soul."

Yugi balled up his fist, his face displaying his uneasy emotions before he meet Mai's gaze. Forcing his gaze to be strong, Yugi attempted to display his determination and will before Mai. " Just because it's not the paradise you wanted, it still could be someone else's. You said it earlier yourself. The Goddess Horakhty created this place for a king's soul to stay when he had only darkness to turn to. Maybe this is _his paradise_ , his heaven. He was just _kind_ enough to share it with us."

The blonde female looked down at Yugi disdainfully. Her eyes betrayed the kind nature she had tried to win Yugi over with. Yugi stepped away from Mai, weary of her next action. His violet eyes searched her for any indication of violence. When he had been living, he had been the victim of countless incidents regarding bullying and violence. He hadn't been able to protect himself then, and even now he was unsure if he could defend himself, but he was positive that he could avoid her hostile actions.

Yugi watched in horror as large off white wings appeared from Mai's back. He felt his heart quicken in fear. He took a step back and Mai smiled in victory.

"All talk and no balls-"

"Mai!"

Both Yugi and Mai paled when Mai's name was called. Yugi looked over his shoulder, and Mai quickly hid her wings again. Almost running to meet them with a hand waving in the air, was male the looked like he was around Yugi's own age with brilliant white hair. He was almost Yugi's current height, just a little taller. He slowed down as he came closer to them, before coming to a complete stop and out of breath.

"You...You got to give us a little more of a warning next time." The newcomer had a modulant voice with an English accent. He was bent over his hands supporting his upper body on his knees while soft brown eyes looked at Mai disapprovingly. "I had to rush here to meet you on time! Jonouchi is busy on a solo mission without Kaiba, Marik is doing the paperwork for our latest mission alone, and Atem and Yami are still…" The male shook his head with a sigh. "I would appreciate it if you would give us a day's notice so everyone could meet together and not just me."

Mai's good nature returned and she simply laughed at the male's words. "Oh come now, where would the fun be there, _Mr. Goodie-two-shoes_?"

He rolled his eyes before turning his attention Yugi, which caught the new Shinigami off guard. Smiling, the white haired male did his best to make him seem not exhausted and dusted of his clothes; a simple blue and white stripe t-shirt and a pair of dark pants. "You must be the new addition to our team!"

Holding out a hand, the white hair male only offered kindness to Yugi. "My name is Ryou Bakura, I'll be one of your teammates. My role is to provide on site emergency medical assistance if required and to secure the area when spirits needing to be reap are fleeing."

Yugi took Ryou's hand and shook it once with his own shy smile display for the other male to see. "I'm Yugi Mutou. It's a pleasure to meet you, but I have no idea what my role in our team will be. Let alone my partner."

Ryou looked shocked and his eyes drifted to Mai. "He doesn't know?"

Mai looked away, rubbing the back of her head in a guilty fashion while her lips formed a pout. "Hopkinz made a mess of things and snatched the scythe right out of this boy. So at the moment, his power is unable to be gauge and his scythe is residing in the careful hands of the fourth Guardian."

Ryou nodded thoughtfully. "That doesn't explain his partner though. That's based on availability and personality. I know Marik and I declined the form for a third partner for obvious reasons, but who in our team accepted it? Not that I'm complaining! I'm happy to have you joining us Yugi!" Ryou quickly gave Yugi another smile, but his brown eyes looked troubled. "Did Jou accept or did the other two not…"

"The other two," Mai spoke with some hesitation. "Did not submit their response and are the best match in our current full status."

"Ehhh?" Ryou turned his eyes towards Yugi, looking at him pitifully before returning his gaze to Mai. "Do they know yet?"

"The orders were sent out an hour ago, along with the partner files. " Mai handed the package she carried to Yugi before turning her back to the two males. "If they haven't returned to their respective rooms, then they'll know when they do. Now take care of the new guy, we don't want him cracking his first day here!" With a wave Mai started leaving. "See ya!"

"Bye!" Ryou waved politely to Mai and turned to face his newest teammate. " Since we're in the housing district, we can go ahead and find your room if you like. There's a key in the box you have, along with other things the higher ups saw fit to present you upon arrival"

Yugi nodded, "That'll be great, Ryou" He looked down at the package heavy in his hands. Flipping it over to side where the seal was visible, Yugi opened the box and let his hand to shift through the contents carefully before pulling out a delicate silver key with a note tied to it. He'd look through the package thoroughly when he got to his room.

"Um, this is the only key I found." Yugi held up his key for Ryou to see.

"Do you mind if I read the note?"

"No, not at all." Yugi handed over the key with no hesitation. Ryou was kind. His smile was warm and gentle, just like his personality. To Yugi, he was someone he could easily trust or go to when he was troubled by something. He was the same kind of person Yugi had been for his friends when he was alive.

Ryou held the note tenderly in his hand and smiled as he discovered Yugi's living arrangements. "Now this is a surprise! They gave you a room in one of the higher tier complexes. To keep you close with your partners and to stick with us, no doubt!"

Yugi blinked confused. "Higher tier?" He held out his hand as Ryou returned his key. "Are Shinigami ranked?"

"Yes, we are. I can explain the rankings to while we head to your room. It's just a little further down from here." Ryou spoke happily and used his hand to gesture towards the direction of the massive palace that loomed in the distance. "My partner and I also live in the same housing complex along with most of our team, so there's also friendly faces nearby!"

Yugi smiled and for the first time since his arrival at Sanctuary, he felt relieved. Maybe he could turn a blind eye to his troubles, despite Mai's words. If he and Ryou became friends, it would be easy for him to at least manage his current situation. Ryou was so kind and helpful. Maybe Yugi could even vent to him if given some time.

"Really? I'm grateful, " Yugi took Ryou's lead and followed the older Shinigami with his violet eyes shining brightly with hope. "I-...we may not have known each other long, but I'm happy I'll have someone I at least know around."

"Mhmm, you're lucky. I didn't know anyone for a long time when I arrived, but enough of that gloomy talk; it's time for a lesson!" Ryou lead the way to Yugi's new home confidently with a bright smile. " Sanctuary has a ranking order that is place for when a particularly tough mission comes up. There is seven classifications, but only six are in current use."

"Well that doesn't make any sense, what's the reasoning?" Yugi looked at Ryou confused, who held a look of guilt.

"It's classified information. Even I don't know the reason, but my partner thinks it has something to do with the missing Seventh guardian, the King seat. But I wouldn't dwell too much on it. It's a touchy subject if mentioned around the wrong person."

Yugi nodded and took a mental note. _'Missing King is a bad subject to talk about.'_

"Now, ranks One through Six are pretty simple classification wise. One is the weakest, and Six is the strongest. Six is typically only reserved for those with power equal to a guardian. Ranks with a level of five are the elitist, There's only a handful who've so far manage to be promoted or were originally evaluated as a rank Five. Four through Two is the common tier for ranks. Solely based on strength and handle the common missions, such as soul collecting, soul guidance, and the exercising of lingering spirits. Rank One are the non-combat Shinigami. Such as a Greeter, the Shinigami who greet new born Shinigami, the researching and development teams, those given an office job, and the occasional child Shinigami. They have scythes and can fight with skills of even one of the elites; like Mai for example, she has a rank of One since she focuses on research, but she also has a rank of Five in combat."

Yugi shuddered when he remembered how threatening Mai had been earlier. Even for someone who does not fight, she still had been menacing. Yugi's eyes drifted to the male next to him out of curiosity. "What's your rank, Ryou?"

" 5.1" He spoke without even the slightest hesitation or fear, but his eyes looked down at the ground with a sadden stare. " My partner and I were the most recent promotions to a rank of Five, about a decade ago. Most are proud of it, but...I'm not too fond of the circumstances surrounding our promotions."

Yugi caught on to Ryou's sudden depressed nature, noticing how it was similar to his own. Placing a hand on the older male's shoulder Yugi offered his comfort to his teammate. "It's okay, we don't have to talk about this if it makes you remember unpleasant things."

"Ah," Ryou perked up and shook his head. "No, no, I'm fine!" A soft smile graced Ryou's friendly face. " I can tell you the rest of our team's ranks if you like. I'm sure you're curious to know, but I'll leave out your partner's ranks. That's actually something I've never learned. "

Yugi smiled and nodded for Ryou to continue, but he was curious. Why was his partners' ranks not known to his teammate?

" My partner's rank is a 5.3, his name is Marik Ishtar and he's our team's stealth operative. Jonouchi Katsuya is our melee specialist, ranked 5.25 and partnered to Seto Kaiba, rank 6.3, and our team's long-distance specialist and the team's co-leader-"

"The _Seto Kaiba_?" Yugi cut off Ryou and stopped walking while halting Ryou by tugging on his shirt gently. "As in the former CEO of Kaiba Corporation?!"

Ryou raised a hand to politely hide his gentle laughter. "Ah, yes. I forgot he was quite the figure in his mortal life. I will not confirm or deny your suspicions, you can confirm it yourself once he has recovered from his shock."

Yugi was amazed. Seto Kaiba had been the owner and former CEO of Kaiba Corporation before his sudden passing ten years ago and his much younger brother, Mokuba Kaiba, succeeded him with little details released regarding his death. Kaiba had been the mastermind that turned a million dollar weapons company into an almost billion dollar gaming company. The same company that supplied for his grandfather's gaming store.

They continued walking after Yugi recovered from his excitement over being able to meet the Seto Kaiba. Although it was during unfortunate circumstances, he was still meeting the man soon. Yugi's inner gamer was thrilled to death.

Ryou had continued talking about their team's composition. His partners, though Ryou refused disclose their names, also had significant roles. One was their team's leader and the other, the strategist and intelligence. By the time they had came to a stop at the housing complex where Yugi would be living his private life at from now on, the younger male was slowly worrying about how he would pull his own weight as a teammate and as a partner. He didn't even have rank, according to Ryou, and Yugi was fearful that he wouldn't be able to keep up with the others.

"Home sweet home!" Ryou's silvery voice chirped, and Yugi forced himself to focus his attention his home and not his woes. _' This is a paradise, there's no need for worries.'_

* * *

Yugi's breath caught in his throat. Before him stood a golden building three feet high and made from sandstone that resembled pure gold. The it sat on was beautifully cared for, a small pond covered most of the front lawn and provided a rich resource of nutrients for the exotic plants that gave the beautiful middle-eastern style building life. A bridge was crafted out of brilliant marble, gold, and white wood. Yugi noticed while the landscape was beautiful itself, it lacked flowers. Only green plants of varying shades provided life to the lawn, while other housing complexes around them sported a variety of different colors in their personal gardens.

" Ryou," Yugi quickly caught up to the male as he crossed the elegant bridge to the beautiful hypostyle entrance hall. "Why does our home lack flowers?"

"So you noticed that?" The white hair Shinigami clasped his hands behind his back happily. " Most teams live together in a housing complex, like most of our team does. Also, each team is assigned a flower breed to serve as their brand. Ours is the lotus plant. We planted the night breed in the front, and a mixture of day and night bloomers in the central garden. Jou and I wanted to be different from the others, and no one disagreed so that's what we did."

"Ah, I see." Yugi smiled fondly at the information as he followed Ryou into the actual housing complex. When Ryou lead him inside, Yugi was greeted by warm tones in the grand walls and floors, with a variety of brightly colored wall tapestries, rugs, and furniture decorating the main room. The area was completely open and seemed larger on the inside than it had on the outside. Yugi noticed how there were three separate large hallways that split off from the room, leading left, right, and directly straight.. In the center of the room, was a large and elegant wrap around round desk and in the space in the middle of it, floated a fluffy brown creature with massive violet eyes and green arms and legs.

Yugi took in a deep breath and held it. ' _What is that?!'_

"Kuri! Kuri!" The creature's high-pitch voice cooed and it flew up from the desk and straight into Ryou's chest.

Yugi watched with awe as Ryou hugged the creature and stroke its fur gently. "Yugi, this is our Kuriboh. Each housing complex in Sanctuary has a house familiar, ours happens to be Kuriboh. He keeps the peace here and makes sure we are taken care of." Ryou squeezed the creature tightly once more before releasing it.

Kuriboh was purring as it cautiously approached Yugi. The creature floated in front of him, its eyes staring intently into Yugi's before it circled around him. Yugi attempted to keep his eyes on the abnormality as it observed him, but Ryou signaled for him to keep still while Kuriboh did as it pleased. When the creature came to a stop in front of Yugi, it moved its entire body in a nod as it cried happily, "Kuri! Kur-kuri!"

Yugi blinked rapidly as the monster charged at him like it had Ryou and nuzzled itself against his cheek before floating up and plopping down on his head.

Unable to contain his laughter, Yugi reached up to pet the beast while he turned to look at Ryou with bright eyes. "I think he likes me!"

"That he does, he's not even this excited when he sees Atem."

At the mentioning of the name, Yugi felt the beast bolt from his head and began to zoom around the room in search for the person Ryou spoke of. Yugi watched with joy as Ryou took after the creature trying to catch it. "Oi! Calm down! He's not here, he's not here!"

Yugi lost his composure and fell back on his bottom when Ryou accidentally knocked him down while trying to catch the energetic familiar. The new Shinigami began laughing hysterically, unable to control himself. This warmth, this joy...this made the housing complex he would be staying at, feel like home. Maybe, in due time, he would consider it home. Yugi loved the energy of Kuriboh and Ryou was just as joyful.

Kuriboh took refuge on top of Yugi's head to avoid Ryou and Yugi couldn't fight off a second round of laughter as the white haired male stared at the creature sitting on head, with a disappointed pout. When Yugi had finished his round laughter, though a few chuckles still escaped him and his sides ached, Ryou gave him a helping hand and a bright smile while he helped his newest teammate to his feet.

When Yugi was standing full on his feet, Ryou took a step back, only to be tackled to the floor by a dull platinum blonde.

"Ha, I caught you off guard. Any last words before I decide your final fate? What will it be? Death by wet-willy, or will you cave and pay the price of freedom this time?"

"Marik!" Ryou struggled underneath the male that kept him forcefully pend to the ground. "I'm busy! I'm trying to show our new member his room! Get off of me, please!"

Pale lilac eyes looked to the left, at Yugi, with a fierce gaze. Yugi tensed and stood properly, his hands flat against the sides of his legs. Kuriboh mimicked Yugi's actions from a top of his head, finding it fun to copy the new Shinigami. The man staring at him like he was the enemy, was exotic. Tan skin, sharp eyes lined and marked with khol where his most distinguishing features, but his choice in attire, a purple crop-top vest and tan cargo pants, made Yugi question the intimidation he tried to enforce upon him.

"So this is the new guy?" Standing, the man called Marik helped Ryou up from the ground, only to wrap his arms around the other's waist and lay his head on his shoulder. "Ehhh, he looks weak. How did he manage to get stuck in our group? Does he got some kind of special talent or something?"

Yugi stayed taunt as he watch Ryou rolled his eyes and use a hand to gently push against Marik's cheek. "A certain two didn't fill out their paperwork again, and he was actually matched with them. So be nice, he's had a rough day. Rebecca was his greeter and Mai was the receiver."

Marik's pale purple eyes widened with shock and looked at Ryou in surprise before turning to Yugi with an amazed gaze. "You survived those two vixens? The brat and the harpy? You may even be even more frightening than Atem!"

Yugi flustered and relaxed as Ryou shushed the man holding him with his hand. "Ignore him Yugi, He's just a rambling idiot who has paperwork to finish."

Yugi hid his snickering politely with his left hand as Marik released Ryou and shoved him playfully with his shoulder. "I've already finished all of it. Besides, this is more important. A late report won't kill anyone."

Marik left Ryou's side and walk forward to properly greet Yugi. He extended a hand towards the newcomer with a warm smirk. "Welcome to our team, I'm Marik Ishtar, Ryou's partner in more ways than one. "

"You ass!" Yugi didn't get a chance, as Ryou returned the tackle Marik had hit him with, but didn't force the other down.

Yugi's cheeks were a faint red from the sandy blonde's comment, but he wisely chose to ignore it. " It's a pleasure to be here, Marik. I'm Yugi Mutou, uh...the new partner for two of your teammates."

"Oh, you're polite and somewhat timid." Marik ignored Ryou's attempt at trying to tackle him to the ground, and instead focused on Yugi, examining him from all frontal angles. "Well, that's going to be interesting considering the two that's going to be your partners are cocky sons of bitches. But why don't you show us those wings and scythe of yours. You show me yours, I'll show you mine."

"I currently don't have them." Yugi admitted and avoided looking at Marik, uneasy about the other's reaction. Kuriboh cooed softly and patted Yugi's head with a clawed hand in comfort, hoping the boy wouldn't be so gloomy of the fact he was currently powerless.

"Ah, so you only survived the harpy, the brat scared the scythe right out of you." Marik commented with a pitted look, but it was quickly replaced by a proud smirk and confident eyes. "Don't worry, I know you have potential. After all, you _are a Sacrifice_ , one of the blessed-ow!"

Marik rubbed the back of his head where Ryou had popped him for his rude comment. "Be mindful, he only now just woke from purgatory. Don't speak so lightly about his death, do you want him to turn into a _Fallen_?"

"A fallen?" Yugi looked to Ryou to answer his question. He hadn't minded Marik's words, actually he wanted to know more about what he was and how Marik knew that he had given his life up for another.

"A term used to describe a Shinigami who turned into an Onmyouji. Never use it in public, okay? Bad things happen when it's spoken lightly among others." Ryou explained over Marik's grumbling.

Pushing the blonde towards the way they entered the housing complex, Ryou shooed Marik away with words of a scolding wife. "Off with you, go fetch us all of us, including Yugi and Kuriboh, some dinner. I'll be helping Yugi adjust here and then I will meet you in your room tonight."

"So cold, " Marik joked as he pecked Ryou's cheek and left with a wave. "I'll bring home some burgers! I heard there's a special at Sam's tonight!"

Ryou cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted at Marik's leaving form. "Okay, but don't you cause trouble this time! I'm not bailing you out of the penitentiary; you can enjoy your sweet personal time with Karim!"

"That's okay! We never finish our game of Rummy from last time I was locked up!"

Yugi watched as Ryou smiled softly and watched Marik lovingly until he had vanished from sight. "He's such a goof, but he's an amazing work of art." The white hair Shinigami returned his gaze to Yugi and smiled even bigger at the younger male. "Shall we head to your room now?"

Yugi gave several happy nods, that cause Kuriboh to fall from his head and hover down to retake his perch on Yugi's shoulder. "Sure, but when will I get to meet my partners? I'm actually starting to curious about them. Neither of you have mentioned their names directly to me, nor said much about who they are. It's actually nerve racking, to be truthful."

"I'm aware," Ryou ruffled Kuriboh's fur gently with one hand as he lead Yugi forward and deeper into their home. "But it's not my place to tell you about them. I may have a bias opinion which could damage your relation with your partners. I would tell you their names, but you would only ask more questions from there and try to dig for information which I cannot give to you."

"Thank you, Ryou." Yugi sighed and pressed his lips together. Although Ryou had been nothing but nice to him, Yugi had the feeling the male was trying to coddle him. He wasn't naive enough to believe in false rumors or hold another person's opinion personally. It made Yugi believe that his partners could personally have a bad reputation in Sanctuary and Ryou was trying to protect their dignity by preserving his ignorance.

Yugi just hope Ryou wasn't trying to hide something more than a bad reputation about his partners.

* * *

Yugi looked around his surroundings warily. "Are you positive my room is in _this_ part of the house?"

"Yes Yugi, one of your partners are the caretaker, well you are too once you've unlock your door, of this part of our Housing unit. They don't come here to stay very often, as you can tell by the lack of-" Ryou brushed a cobweb out of their way as they traveled down the neglected hallway, "care and activity. It'll brighten up once you've settled in. Kuriboh is already antsy about this mess."

Yugi looked at Ryou doubtingly. The round beast had join Yugi's package, being cradled to the young Shinigami's chest while shivering with fright. "I think he's more worried about some hidden ghoul popping out to eat him."

"Oh hush!" Ryou turned and swatted the air between them playfully. "We haven't seen a single hair from your partners in this house in over five years, no ghouls live here!"

Ryou stopped and used his hand to brush away dust from a door handle and gestured for Yugi to open it. "Go ahead and open it. This is your room, your part of our home."

Yugi used one arm to hold both his package and Kuriboh securely to his chest while he dug in his pocket for his key. The new Shinigami placed the teeth of the key into the lock and twisted it without hesitation. Yugi was half expecting some grand light to shine from underneath the door, but instead, there was a click and the hallway they stood in immediately grew warmer. The cobwebs faded into nothing, the dust dissolved in the air, and the curtains pulled over the windows moved to let bright sunlight fill the hallway. Yugi nearly dropped Kuriboh and the package from Mai, from his shock when the hallway cleaned itself.

"See, what did I tell you? It's a lot better know, right?" Ryou spoke gleefully, and patted Yugi's back lightly. "Why don't we head inside to explore your room? I can help you figure things out from there."

Yugi looked at Ryou questioningly. What would he need to figure out? He'll find out his partners are, meet up with them and then they would take care of the rest, for Yugi. At least, that's what Yugi hoped for. Helpful partners who would be there for him, just as he would….and be close just like Marik and Ryou. A friendship rather than a forced partnership. Twisting the doorknob to his room, Yugi pushed his door open. There was no point delaying the information he desperately sought, any longer.

The room that now belong to Yugi was completely different from the house's decorative style, and even more technologically advance. It was massive in size, at least four times bigger than his room at his grandpa's house and had the layout of a studio apartment. Immediately upon entering the room, was the entryway and a decent size cupboard to the right, for shoe storage and jackets, and white hardwood floors that formed into plush carpet beyond the kitchen. To the left was a small kitchen with stainless steel appliances arranged in a galley layout, the white counter top and dark cupboards on the right side of the kitchen formed a makeshift wall with a window to look out into the open floor plan that laid beyond it.

Past the kitchen was the main living space. Here Yugi noticed the walls of the apartment had been painted with a light grey and was accented by a variety of posters of various games framed and hung neatly on the walls. To the right was a living room setup where a black leather sofa sat in front of a large TV flat-screen mounted on the right side wall. Two matching single person arm chairs flanked the sofa's side and a long dark entertainment center, filled with almost every gaming console known to man and their respective games, sat underneath the mounted television. Purple and grey pillows accented and brought color to the entertainment area, along with comfort.

To the left side of the grand main area, was a bed with no head or foot board. It was low to the ground, and decorated in numerous shades of grays and purples. A dozen pillows formed the head of the bed, making it's queen size seem even larger. On its geometrical patterned comforter, laid another package, this one much larger than the current one Yugi held in his arms. A little way past the bed was a pristine white door with a silver handle and past it, was a simple black metal desk with a silver laptop, a simple desk lamp, and generic office materials. The was stunning, however, the most amazing part about it was the massive wall to ceiling window that covered the entire back wall and overlooked a beautiful garden in the center of the home.

Yugi shared a look of awe with Ryou as he toed of his shoes and ventured into the room to explore it. Yugi laid his package down on the counter top of his galley kitchen and let Kuriboh do its own exploring as he walked around the room aimlessly, not sure where to even start.

"This room is almost even more impressive than Kaiba's. " Ryou was doing his own exploring, though he had been interested in the door near Yugi's bed." Just look at this closet!"

Yugi joined his teammate to observe his new closet with wide eyes. It was almost like the size of a child's room and filled with a variety of clothing, dressers which stored more clothes, and it even had a corner where board and card games where stored. Yugi felt his heart beat with excitement. Was all this truly his?

"Are all rooms this extravagant?!" He asked Ryou in complete wonder.

" Yes and no. All rooms are catered to the occupants desires and needs, but with materials from the age when they lived as a human." Ryou ran his fingers along Yugi's desk, his brown eyes full with excitement. "We can personally request items from the times after our death that are more technologically advance, as long as they exist within the current state of the Living world. Like computers and gaming systems, but we have to use our fare we earn from missions to purchase them."

Yugi nodded as he returned to his main area and went to collect both his package from Mai and the new one his bed. He carried them with ease, surprisingly the new box wasn't heavy at all. He placed them on the floor a he took a seat on the sofa in his room, and was almost absorbed by its plump cushions. He waved Ryou over, "Can you come and explain some of the things in both of these boxes?"

"I would love to!" Ryou hummed happily as he joined Yugi on the sofa. Kuriboh joined them too, sitting on Ryou's lap happily.

Yugi started with Mai's package and carefully pulled and sat all of it's contents on his lap. The first thing he picked up was a thick, sleek black folder with beautiful hieroglyphics painted in silver ink on the front. Yugi flipped it over in his hands before opening it eagerly. Inside he found to separate stacks of papers clipped together. One in each of the folder's two pockets. "What is this?"

"Your partner details." Ryou said happily as he watched Yugi with a warm expression."Everything you need to know about your partners are in that folder. Go ahead and read it."

Yugi gave a simple hum and a nod as he picked up the first stack of papers in the folder. He kip the first few pages of paper, which spoke about a partner's duties to each other, he would read about it later. His curiosity was getting the better of him. On the fourth sheet in, Yugi came face to face with a large spreadsheet that listed the basic information on his first partner:

 _NAME: SENNEN YAMI_

 _SEX: MALE_

 _DOB: 31 OCTOBER, 1827_

 _DOD: 08 FEBRUARY, 1844_

 _AGE AT DEATH: SIXTEEN_

 _HEIGHT: 5 FEET, 8 INCH_

 _WEIGHT: 162 POUNDS_

 _CATEGORY: MURDER_

 _SCYTHE: BLACK LUSTER_

 _RANK: 5.9_

 _ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:_

 _Yami Sennen has been reported on multiple occasions for chaotic and disruptive behavior. Since partnering with his current partner Atem, he has calmed but still has conflict among other inhabitants of Sanctuary. He has developed a lazy work ethic and fails to proper complete formal reports concerning the missions he is assigned. Sennen actively volunteers as a combat trainer in free time and is a CORE Operative . It is important to know he hardly separates from his current Partner, Atem._

Yami Sennen, the name didn't sit right with Yugi. It was a dark and sinister name. Yugi forced himself to continue on with the rest of the information about his partner Yami. He wouldn't dwell on his name or the fact the man was ranked almost at a Six.

The next few pages were filled with minor details about the man, such as his offenses in Sanctuary and vague reports about his past missions. It was at the end of the stack of papers, Yugi came across several photographs of his first partner. He was left speechless.

Yami Sennen was a handsome man. His face had the angular features of a man, but his cheeks were still slightly round from youth. His eyes were a beautiful magenta color that were sharp and lined with long eyelashes, and was in a similar spiked hairstyle like Yugi's, but Yami's hair was a violent storm. His blonde bangs were crisp and framed his face at sharp angles and three stray locks of hair zipped through his hair like lightning. His skin was a pale olive tone like Yugi's, but Yami had a strong build, where Yugi was more lean.

Yugi swooned from his partner's looks, but his eyes noticed the details of each picture he received of Yami. The male was stern, cold, and even in one picture where he and his scythe were on full display, wicked as his name. Ryou remind quite as Yugi moved on to look at his other partner's information silently.

Much like Yami's stack of papers with information about him. This one had the same basic outline and guide how partners should respect each other before. Yet, when Yugi moved on to read more about his second partner, he noticed Atem's information was not as detailed.

 _NAME: ATEM_

 _SEX: MALE_

 _DOB: UNKNOWN_

 _DOD: UNKNOWN_

 _AGE AT DEATH: UNKNOWN_

 _HEIGHT: 5 FEET, 10 INCH_

 _WEIGHT: 167 POUNDS_

 _CLASSIFICATION: UNDETERMINED._

 _SCYTHE: THE SAINT DRAGON OF OSIRIS, OBELISK THE SOLDIER OF GODS, THE SUN DRAGON OF RA._

 _RANK: 6.9_

 _ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:_

 _Atem's origin is unknown and appeared fifty two years ago. Neither records or memories can accurately place a time and date to when he entered Sanctuary. He was discovered 'sleeping' in the Great House. He has a strong and unique sense of justice and is known for having an obsession for order. Atem is the leader of CORE, and only known case of having three separate scythes. It has been recorded recently, his sleeping pattern has changed and increased._

 _'THREE?'_ Yugi's face displayed his shock with little filtering of both his fear and awe. Not only was one of his partners strong, but both of them! He was never going to be able to compete with them! Yugi felt his heart drum against his chest anxiously. There was denying that if he met his partners now, that he would only serve to disappoint. For heaven's sake, one had three scythes while he had not even one in his current state! Swallowing his bitter feelings and pushing away his negative thoughts, Yugi moved on to Atem's pictures. He couldn't even image what the powerful Shinigami would look like.

Atem, much like Yami, had an angular face with sharp features, but his were more exotic than Yami's. He possessed skin that had been blessed by the sunlight, a perfect tan. Unlike Yami's thin lips, Atem had full lips that were bowed. His hair was just like the wild spiky storm Yami possessed, but his bangs weren't as jagged, and appeared to be made from pure gold. Atem was regal, even his red eyes, the same bright red color of well-aged wine, displayed the need for the man to have everyone's undivided attention. He too, also possessed a strong build, but Atem's body appeared slightly less muscular than Yami's body.

Silently, Yugi neatly placed the information about his partners back in the black folder. He shut it tenderly and let out a heavy sigh. His soft round eyes gazed at his feet making him appear defeated. " I'm not sure what I should even say." He laughed softly and looked to Ryou, his violet eyes silently pleading for the other to release any details that could help him adjust to the idea of having two... strong Shinigami as his partners. " They are _good_ people, right?"

Ryou smiled, though he did not meet Yugi's eyes and focused on petting Kuriboh affectionately. " They are very good people, but.." Ryou's smile faded into a sadder simper. "Bad things happen to good people, sometimes. Both Atem and Yami had their share of rough times, and their scars show more visible than most. Because of it, they get treated a bit differently. They are the best partners you could have, even better than me and Marik. Just don't be afraid or intimidated by them, just be yourself." Ryou looked up and met Yugi's worried violet eyes, with his hopeful brown ones. "I just know, with them by your side, you'll be able to do great things, Yugi Mutou."

"Thanks Ryou," Yugi smiled and placed the folder down on the couch between them. "I'm just a little worried about their reactions to me when they find out I lost my scythe and power. On top of that I still…." Yugi swallowed hard, fighting back his distress. " I've not really accepted it yet, that I'm dead. It's only been a couple of hours."

"I…" Ryou sighed and passed Yugi Kuriboh, to hold on to. "Actually Yugi, You've been dead in the realm of Mortals for nearly seven months."

"I...I have?"

Ryou nodded. "When a Shinigami dies during their human life, Sanctuary is alerted. A Greeter is selected and sent to the Rift, the world between Sanctuary, the Shadow realm, and the human realm. Everyone knew you were coming here, it was just a matter of when you would appear."

Yugi squeezed Kuriboh lightly and pressed his face into the gentle creature's soft fur. "This is too much for me to take in. I can't...I don't even know what to do or how to react!"

Ryou moved closer to Yugi, laying the black folder on the floor in the process. He used an arm to hug Yugi's shoulder gently in comfort. "It's okay, none of us did...well the suicides kinda did, but the rest of us had a hard time adjusting. Death...isn't an easy change to accept."

Yugi didn't say anything and just accepted the comfort while attempted to calm himself. He shouldn't be show how weak he was in front of a teammate. Ryou, although Yugi highly doubted it, might view it as a weakness and look down on him.

"It's okay Yugi, how about we move on from this subject? It looks like the Seven Sacred Guardians sent you a good amount of things to explore, so let's focus on that. It's a good distraction."

Yugi lifted his head, his violet eyes showing his exhaustion, but he smiled and nodded at Ryou's idea. "Yeah, let's do that."

Yugi discovered the two packages he was gifted with were filled with so much stuff, despite their light weight. Mai's package for him had personal letters from all five current Guardians, detail guides about the different lifestyles available in Sanctuary, pamphlets about each section in Sanctuary and maps for visuals, Yugi was even given a sum of money to help with living costs until he was able to go on missions and earn a steady pay. While Mai's package's contents had been more formal and mostly paperwork, the package he found on his new bed was much more exciting.

Inside the larger package, Yugi was greeted by a plethora of items to explore. Odd devices he had never seen before! One of the more notable items he received was a bunch of small clear cube looking things, which Ryou explained and named "containment cubes" for rowdy spirits who refuse to cooperate. He even told Yugi they could hold Shinigami hostage, though only for a minimum of two hours. He had received more gadgets and gizmos which Ryou explained their combat uses, but Yugi hadn't been all that interested in wasn't one that enjoyed using violence, he wasn't a pacifist he just never had been a person for physical confrontation.

The rest of the items he was granted were just simple gifts to him. Candy, some of his favorite movies on dvd, a replica of his duel monster's deck that he left behind in the Living world, and many more. He asked Ryou to help him explore all of his gifts, and soon both he and his new friend found themselves surrounded by sweets, games, unique trinkets, and even two small bottles of alcohol. Yugi had been grateful for receiving such a grand present and appreciated all the gifts he had been given, but there had been one item that he was most fascinated with.

Ryou was currently snacking on a chocolate bar Yugi had gave to him, while the new Shinigami tenderly examined the slim full touch screen phone in his hand. He was amazed by being able to even touch the luxurious item. When he had been alive, his mobile phone had been a simple flip phone with basic calling and texting functions. But now...He had been given a mobile phone that was just as high tech as Anzu's and Honda's had been.

"Ah, you're so lucky!" Ryou exclaimed, catching Yugi's attention. "That's the Soul Nebula 8! It was just released barely even a week ago. Not even Kaiba has one yet!"

"Really?" Yugi blinked owlishly at Ryou before looking back down at his phone. The silver phone was elegant and seemed unreal to the younger male. He pressed the power button on the right side with his thumb, and watched as the phone hummed to life. While Yugi waited on his phone to boot up, Ryou held his candy bar in his mouth while one hand pulled his own phone free from his back pocket, and the other fought off Kuriboh as the monster tried to steal his chocolate.

Holding his own phone up, Ryou passed the mobile device to Yugi while he wrapped up his half ate candy bar to protect it from Kuriboh's greedy mouth. Once he was done, Yugi handed Ryou his white phone back and the white haired male smiled in thanks. "Mobile phone became really big here, especially after the smartphones were released. " Ryou unlocked his phone and showed Yugi the multiple apps on his phone. "In Sanctuary, mobile phones are used to locate departed souls, track targets, detect or enemies, and track our also have the same properties as the cell phones in World of The Living. I have a Constellation 6s, it's a different model than yours, but it serves the same function. "

Yugi looked in awe at Ryou's phone, before looking down at his own phone. The lock screen was just a generic photo of a starry night displaying the time and the phone's signal, wifi, and battery information. He slid his thumb across the screen to unlock it, and found himself gawking at the multiple apps and functions his phone had already programed into it. "This is so cool!" The teen practically squealed and Ryou laughed light.

"Just wait!" Ryou fiddled with his phone before gently touching the top of his phone to Yugi's.

Violet eyes watched in complete awe as his phone's screen turned a blue color and displayed the words _"TRANSFER IN PROGRESS…"_ as dots faded in and out of view. Yugi looked up at Ryou, then down at his phone, then back to Ryou. "What is it doing!?"

"I'm sharing my contacts with you." Ryou smiled and ruffled Kuriboh's fur, when the creature bumped against his leg wanting attention. "All phones, when placed against each other, can transfer data with each other. Contacts, pictures, case files.. You just select the files you want shared and lock the ones you don't and then you can share them with anyone you want to!"

" _'Data Transfer'_ complete. " A generic female voice spoke aloud as both of their phones flashed a brilliant green before fading to their lock screens. Yugi notice on Ryou's phone, the white haired male had a picture of someone with long wild white hair and tan skin similar to Yami's. The face was blocked from a message notification being displayed, but the person was dressed in a black trench coat, had a deep blue shirt and black pants. Yugi wondered if it was someone apart of their team. _'_ _Maybe that's Jonouchi? One of our teammates?'_

"Hey Ryou,"Yugi ignored his phone and gazed at his teammate curiously. " This may be a bit personal, but who's the person in your lock screen photo?"

Ryou's body tensed next to Yugi's. Brown eyes gazed down at their owner's phone, mirroring Ryou's unexpected sadness. "That… is a long story." Ryou hid his phone in his pocket, his sadness and tense body melted away and was replaced by the other's warm smile and his normal happy nature. "I'll tell you another time, perhaps. But not … not today." He rested a hand on Yugi's shoulder, although his warm smile was in place, Ryou's eyes still displayed his earlier depression. "Somethings are meant to be left in the dark at this time. We have to strengthen your soul before I can tell you anything about that story. Just know he is a friend worth saving...one day, hopefully."

"Okay." Yugi didn't press into the matter. His heart was already heavy as he noticed the growing sadness in Ryou's eyes. "I...I'm sorry if I made you think of something unpleasant."

" It's not that it is unpleasant, it's just a dark reminder of how things could be and would have been." Ryou removed his hand from Yugi's shoulder and used it to tussle Yugi's wild tri-colored hair. "How about we go get some fresh air? We can go tour the gardens until Marik gets back with supper. I think Jonouchi should be home by now. We can even go bug him for a bit and get you two acquainted. I have a feeling you'll get along well!"

Yugi stretched out his arms over his head with a muffled yawn. "That sounds like a great idea. I just want to take a break from learning and trying to…" His violet eyes dulled when he thought about his demise, before shaking his head and pocketing his phone. He stood up from the couch placed his hands on his hips. "Let's go take breather, I think both of us go use some air. "

After the two straightened up Yugi's room with help from Kuriboh, they pulled on their shoes and left Yugi's humble abode to go explore the outdoors. Out of habit, Yugi had paused after shutting his door and locked it with its key. It was while he was locking his door, that Kuriboh suddenly shouted urgently and took of soaring through the hallway at a blinding rat, leaving Yugi stunned and and a less than amused Ryou.

"What's up with Kuriboh?"Yugi pocketed his key, his eyes still watching the hallway where the monster had dashed away.

Ryou sighed and hid his hands behind his back. "I believe your partners have arrived. He only takes off in such a manner when Atem is here. Like I mentioned earlier when you first met Kuriboh, he has a strong fondness for Atem." Ryou took Yugi's hand and lead him down the hallway in the opposite direction from the path Kuriboh had took. "Come, let's go explore the gardens like we talked about."

" Wait!" Yugi had to quicken his normal walk to match Ryou's rushed pace. " Why don't we go greet them, my partners first? I want to formally introduce myself to them-"

"That is not wise at the moment." Ryou cut Yugi off. For the first time, Yugi saw the elite Shinigami in Ryou's stern brown eyes. "I am aware of the fact that Atem will be livid at Yami for not submitting their paperwork on time and having you set that fire through good intentions, is not something I will allow. I am our team's healer, it is my job to protect my teammate's health and care for it. Both the physical and mental portions. I won't let their lover's quarrel damage our newest addition so recklessly. God forbid if I even catch wind of them stirring up trouble about this, I will personally seek punishment."

Yugi swallowed hard. "Ah, so they're together like you and Marik?" The newest Shinigami decided it was best to change the subject before Ryou slipped even more into this... serious persona.

Ryou's face was warm with a bright red blush. " I wouldn't place my relationship with Marik in the same category as Atem and Yami, but yes. They are dating, or at least, very intimate with each other. I do wish to give you this warning though," Ryou's brown eyes grew soft again and glance at Yugi out of care. " They do openly display their affections for each other far less discreetly than should be allowed when in the public's eye, so be prepared for seeing such a scene on a daily basis."

Yugi felt his own cheeks grow warm from Ryou's words. "Warning heeded," Yugi inform the white haired male with a shiver. He wasn't opposed to same-sex relations, being bisexual himself, but the thought of witnessing indecent affectionate actions between lovers; made him uncomfortable.

It didn't take long for them to reach the rear gardens from Yugi's room. The new shinigami was quick to notice it was the same lush scenery that his bedroom overlooked. Ryou took his time showing every nook and cranny the garden had to offer, to Yugi. From the relaxing scenery of a wild variety of trees and green plants, to the excitingly oasis themed pool that was hidden from view to make it a secluded paradise for their team to just enjoy themselves. Yugi ended up caving to be in the beautifully blue water, and to rolled up his black pants legs and pulled off his shoe to cool his feet off in the refreshing water.

Here, he and Ryou made small talk, discussing their favorite things and trying to get to know each other better while avoid sensitive subjects regarding their pasts. Just like they had both hoped, the fresh air and warmth from the fading afternoon sun, provide the much need relaxation and break they both needed. Yugi after struggling to adjust to his new life after his sudden death, and Ryou from his recent mission and from having to explain much of a Shinigami's life to his newest teammate.

"So what's your favorite type of game?" kicked his feet playfully in the water as he watch Ryou with hopeful and excited eyes.

"Hmm," Ryou smiled as he thoughtfully hummed. "I would have to say table-top roleplay games are my favorite. Being able to create a story and use your imagination with friends is a lot of fun, at least to me it is."

"I agree!" Yugi beamed brightly and balled up his hands into fists, excitedly. "Roleplay games are one of the most creative and thrilling experiences! I personally prefer puzzles and dueling games like Duel Monsters, but RPG's are a close second! We should definitely play together sometime, maybe we can even have a whole team game night!"

"Yes!" Ryou agreed, just as excited as Yugi. "It would be a good exercise to build our relationships and have some fun!"

" We can play games like a tabletop RPG, twister.."

"Or Charades, and even the human knot!"

Yugi smiled brightly and playfully punched Ryou's shoulder. " I like your style of thinking, Ryou."

Ryou flashed a proud grin as he jokingly punched Yugi's arm back. "Why thank you, Yugi-"

"ARGHHH" A rough voice screamed loudly as a tall male charged towards Ryou and Yugi.

"Move Yugi!" Ryou being more experienced and having quick reflexes moved out of the way as the blonde darted for him. Yugi was not as lucky, and was barreled down by the charging male.

Violet eyes went wide when he was suddenly rammed. His body fell forward into the pool's cool water. Yugi felt a rush of cold run through his body as something brushed against the back of his neck and pain engulfed his body in a numbing tidal wave. Darkness clouded his eyes as his ears started to ring from the painful sound of a screaming whistle and the haunting shriek of his name.

 _"YUGI!"_

Pain crippled his body and Yugi found himself unable to will his arms or legs to move and fight against the water. His lungs burned from his lack of air and the carbon monoxide building up in body. Anzu, she was screaming for him. He had to get to her, he was sure he had heard her voice. But why, why was she here? She should be alive, not dead. He saved her, she should be graduating from their school and moving to New York City, to America! Not living in Sanctuary!

Yugi felt his numbing pain start to fade from his limbs. He forced himself to fight against the water, to force himself to swim to the top. He opened his eyes under the water when he felt a strong grip capture his wrist. His violet eyes look dully up at the shadow figure helping him to the surface of the pool. Yugi gasped and choked on the water.

 _Anzu was the one saving him from his watery doom._

* * *

 ** _AN:_** I am so happy to be posting this chapter now. It's been collecting dust just sitting around and waiting for the rewrite to happen.

I want to thank those who have reviewed, favored, and followed this story so far since I posted chapter one a few weeks ago. You guys are amazing and make me feel blessed just to get a follow!~

As promised, this chapter is a lot longer than the first, a little over double the size and tops off at 16,092 words. It's a big boy, haha. But details were key here.

I wanted to flush out a lot of details and add some while changing other elements from the previous version. Editing this baby was a little overwhelming cause I kept trying to add to certain sections and my lovely beta, Anonymous Temmy, had to continually tell me no. So, a special thanks to you my deary, though I know you don't appear on .

I tried not to make Yugi constantly think and dwell on his death, since that is a no-no in this story. Distractions were key to that and Ryou.

I also want to announce that while Yugi (Yami and Atem too )is the main character of the story, the other characters such as Ryou, Jonouchi, and Marik, will not be just left in the dust. There are future parts in the upcoming chapters dedicated to them solely. For no character shall go undeveloped in this story!~

Let me know what you think about chapter two and if you have any ideas what may happen further into the story!~ I love reading reactions, suggestions, and predictions!~  
Thank you for your support so far, and please continue to support me!

Remember to re-read and leave a review!~


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